Police cool over registering swords

Police say they are not looking at seeking laws requiring owners of samurai swords and similar weapons to register them.

Inspector Joe Green, of Wellington, said yesterday one problem was that people unlikely to pose a threat were likely to comply with such requirements, but people most likely to pose a threat were unlikely to fall into line.

There has been a rash of attacks and robberies involving swords in recent years - including a high-profile case at Pipiroa, near Thames, last year where a samurai sword was used to cut off the hand of one woman and partially sever both hands of another.

In Australia, after a series of violent incidents including a gang fight in Melbourne in which a man's hand was chopped off, the Victorian state government will place new controls on swords from July, so anyone with a sword in their home could either sell it to a licensed dealer, hand it in to police, or apply to police for permission to keep it as a collector with tough rules on storage.


Mr Green said it could not be assumed that a similar law here would work, but such options were always open to analysis and review.

"Australian law tends to be more prescriptive in defining offensive weapons than New Zealand and over the past four years when viewing this law vis-a-vis New Zealand law, we have been satisfied that New Zealand law provides sufficient controls," he said.

Police Association spokesman Steve Plowman said it had no official policy on the possession of swords, but was keeping an eye on the Victorian law changes.

- NZPA