UK bans ninja swords in move to crack down on violent knife crime
Brits have until Aug. 1 to get rid of all their ninja swords as the U.K.’s Labour government looks to crack down on knife crime.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Thursday that "ninja swords" specifically will be banned this summer after the 2022 murder of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was stabbed to death by a ninja sword just outside his home.
"Confirmed: Ninja swords will be banned by this summer," Starmer said in a post on X. "When we promise action we take it."
The new ban, "Ronan's Law," will now make it illegal to possess, sell, make or import ninja swords.
"Since losing our beautiful boy Ronan, we have relentlessly campaigned for a ban on ninja swords, the lethal weapon which took his life," Pooja Kanda, the mother to the 16-year-old boy, said, according to a government readout. "We believe ninja swords have no place in our society other than to seriously harm and kill.
"Each step towards tackling knife crime is a step towards getting justice for our boy Ronan."
The British government has set up a surrender process for any owner of a ninja sword, defined as a blade between 14 inches and 24 inches "with one straight cutting edge with a tanto-style point."
"From 1 August, anyone caught in possession of a ninja sword in private could face 6 months in prison, and this will later increase to 2 years under new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill," the government said in a statement. "There is already a penalty of up to 4 years in prison for carrying any weapon in public."
Knife crime has long plagued the U.K. and though offenses involving a "sharp instrument" committed last year across England and Wales were down from a 15-year peak in 2019, they were still substantially higher than crimes reported in 2010, when 33,800 crimes were reported, versus the 50,500 cases in 2024.
A sharp instrument, according to the U.K., could include knives, but it could also include the use of a broken bottle to commit an offense.
The U.K. saw a significant drop from the 52,000 cases involving a "sharp instrument" reported in 2019 by the following year with 41,700 cases reported.
But these incidents have continued to increase each year since.
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.
Knives that are permitted are those used for cooking or while working and have a cutting edge of no more than three inches.
Though the government states that "it’s illegal to use any knife or weapon in a threatening way."
Under Ronan’s Law, jail sentences were also increased for selling knives to minors and the illegal sale of banned knives.
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"Knife crime is destroying young lives as too many teenagers are being drawn into violence, and it is far too easy for them to get hold of dangerous weapons," Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement. "Ronan Kanda was just 16 when he was ruthlessly killed by two boys only a year older than him.
"We are acting with urgency to bring forward measures to prevent deadly weapons from getting into the wrong hands and will continue to do whatever is needed to prevent young people being killed on our streets as part of our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade."