page_title: Improvised weapon
section_title: Legal issues
hierarchical_section_title: Improvised weapon / Legal issues
caption_attribution_description: Photographed at the Imperial War Museum, London.
context_page_description: An improvised weapon is an object that was not designed to be used as a weapon but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or if the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases, improvised weapons are commonly used by attackers in street fights, muggings, murders, gang warfare, during riots, or even during insurgencies, usually when conventional weapons such as firearms are unavailable or inappropriate.
  Improvised weapons are common everyday objects that can be used in a variety of defensive applications. The objects are not physically altered in any way in an effort to make them more functional as weapons. They are generally used in their normal state.
context_section_description: Because of the use of common objects as weapons in violent crimes, many countries have laws that prevent the use of some tools and other non-weapon objects to be used for causing harm. It is possible for a person to be detained or even arrested by a law enforcement official or security personnel for carrying a potentially-harmful object if there is no reasonable use for it. For example, it is legal and perfectly understandable for someone to possess a kitchen knife or a hammer and keep it for use in one's home, but it could be judged suspicious for someone to carry a kitchen knife or a hammer concealed on his/her person or in plain sight when walking down a city street.
  There are places that prohibit people from entering with objects that may be used as weapons. Most public schools in North America do not allow their students to bring pocket knives, butter knives or chain-wallets, sometimes with harsh zero tolerance policies. Airports typically prohibit objects that could be used as weapons from being carried as a carry-on or in a carry-on bag into the aircraft cabin. The security repercussions after the September 11 attacks saw restrictions widely extended to cover even objects like nail clippers and spiked wristbands.
caption: Improvised weapons of the British Home Guard, prepared against the possibility of a German invasion in WWII
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