Archery equipment (conventional bows and crossbows)

Legislation

¶48. In considering the applicable legislation for archery equipment, the logical starting point is the criminal offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, of having an offensive weapon in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. This is a broadly drawn offence which applies to any kind of offensive weapon, being defined by section 1(4) as “any article made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person, or intended by the person having it with him for such use by him or by some other person”. The possession in public of weapons that are not subject to more particular control, may be caught by this provision, dependent upon whether there is a lawful authority or reasonable excuse for carrying it. Possession in public of items such as a bow and arrow could therefore be caught by this provision depending on the individual circumstances.³⁴²³⁴² First Witness Statement of Ms Ellsmore HOM000078/§§209-211.

¶49. The Crossbows Act 1987 applies to crossbows with a draw weight of 1.4 kilograms or more.³⁴³³⁴³ See further the First Witness Statement of Ms Ellsmore HOM000078/§§229-231. By section 1, it is an offence to sell or let for hire such a crossbow to anyone under 18 years of age unless the seller believed the purchaser to be 18 years of age or older and has reasonable ground for that belief. There is a defence under section 1A if the seller believed the purchaser to be 18 years of age or older, and either had taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser’s age or no reasonable person could have suspected from the purchaser’s appearance that they were under the age of 18. The seller is only to be treated as having taken reasonable steps to establish the hirer’s age if they have been shown a passport or a UK/European Union driving licence (there are specific provisions for Scotland). By section 2, it is an offence for someone under the age of 18 to buy or hire a crossbow. By section 3, it is an offence for a person under the age of 18 to have with him a crossbow which is capable of discharging a missile (or parts of a crossbow that could be assembled to discharge a missile) unless he is under the supervision of a person who is 21 years of age or older. By section 4, the police may search individuals they have reason to believe are in unlawful possession of a crossbow.

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¶50. There was at the time, and still is, no legal requirement for an age verification procedure for the delivery of crossbows and the packaging does not have to reveal the contents or that it is meant for someone over the age of 18. The government intends to introduce stronger controls for online crossbow sales via the Crime and Policing Bill, which I address further at paragraph 90, below.³⁴⁴³⁴⁴ First Witness Statement of Ms Ellsmore HOM000078/§224, §§268-269 and factsheet HOM000123, Home Office (2025), ‘Crime and Policing Bill: knife crime and crossbows factsheet’. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/crime-and-policing-bill-2025-factsheets/crime-and-policing-bill-knife-crime-factsheet#:~:text=The%20Bill%20introduces%20

¶51. There are no corresponding legislative restrictions relating to conventional archery bows and arrows.