With the aim of curbing knife crime, the U.K. has set an August 1st deadline for residents to dispose of any ninja swords they possess.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the ban on “ninja swords” following the 2022 murder of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was killed near his home with such a weapon.
“Confirmed: Ninja swords will be banned by this summer,” Starmer stated on X, emphasizing his commitment to action.
The new legislation, known as “Ronan’s Law,” will prohibit the possession, sale, manufacture, or import of ninja swords.
Pooja Kanda, Ronan’s mother, stated that the family has tirelessly campaigned for a ban on ninja swords, calling them lethal weapons with no place in society except to cause serious harm and death.
She added that every step towards tackling knife crime brings them closer to justice for their son.
The British government has established a surrender program for ninja swords, defined as blades between 14 and 24 inches long “with one straight cutting edge with a tanto-style point.”
According to a government statement, possessing a ninja sword in private after August 1st could result in a 6-month prison sentence, which will later increase to 2 years under new measures. The statement also noted that carrying any weapon in public already carries a penalty of up to 4 years in prison.
Knife crime has been a persistent issue in the U.K. While offenses involving a “sharp instrument” in England and Wales decreased from a 15-year high in 2019, they remain significantly higher than in 2010, with 50,500 cases reported in 2024 compared to 33,800 in 2010.
The term “sharp instrument” can include knives, but also other objects like broken bottles used to commit crimes.
The U.K. experienced a notable decrease in such incidents from 52,000 in 2019 to 41,700 the following year.
However, these incidents have been on the rise each year since then.
Nearly two dozen different types of knives are already banned in the UK, including swords that are not a part of a national uniform, switch blades, zombie knives, belt buckle knives or butterfly knives, to name a few.
Permitted knives are those used for cooking or work, with a cutting edge of no more than three inches.
The government emphasizes that using any knife or weapon in a threatening manner is illegal.
Ronan’s Law also increases jail sentences for selling knives and the illegal sale of banned knives.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that knife crime is destroying young lives, with too many teenagers being drawn into violence and finding it too easy to obtain dangerous weapons. She noted that Ronan Kanda was killed at just 16 years old by two boys only a year older than him.
Cooper added that the government is acting urgently to prevent deadly weapons from falling into the wrong hands and will continue to do everything necessary to prevent young people from being killed on the streets, as part of their mission to halve knife crime over the next decade.
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