Carrying a folding knife in Los Angeles, CA and UCLA

D

docktrine

Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
28
Hi, I'm completely new to knives in general so forgive me if I sound ignorant.

I'm in the ROTC program at UCLA. Recently we went on a field training exercise and one of the recommended, but not required, pieces of equipment was a knife no longer than 3 inches.

I looked up a couple of knives to buy but I need to know a couple of things first.

The knife is a Smith & Wesson® S.W.A.T.® M.A.G.I.C. Small Linerlock with Partially Serrated Teflon® Coated Blade.

It comes in three sizes, small, medium, and large
.

What are the blade lengths of each of these? Would they be legal to carry in Los Angeles? What is the policy about carrying these on school campus?
 
Beginners knife 1. Swiss Army Knife (Tinker)
2. Spyderco Delica or Native
3. Benchmade mini griptillian

Note: S&W makes a nice gun but are not the best in the knife world.
 
Screw what is legal. If caught they will just a) not see it. b) see it and then it depends what you are doing with it. No matter what unit you are with, will have thieves in it. Keep the knife cheap but good. Under $40.00. Go in Walmart and get a Buck 110, or if you want to get smaller because of the laws get a Buck 112 Ranger. I myself would go for a Case large size Sodbuster (Model 2138). It has a black handle on it, stainless steel and it doesn't look dangerous. Smokey Mountain Knife works has them for $24.00. It is razor sharp and will do all. Another solution would be a Case Large Yellow Trapper. It is a good working knife. Just don't advertise what you have and you should be good.
 
Legal seems to be another matter. Oddly enough, Los Angeles imposes the 3 inches limit for open carry, not concealed (go figure):

Los Angeles Municipal Code SEC. 55.10
http://www.amlegal.com/los_angeles_ca/

The State has not length limit set down in law: http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/ca.txt

And lastly, yes, spring assisted is legal: http://reviews.ebay.com/WHY-SPRING-ASSIST-KNIVES-ARE-100-LEGAL_W0QQugidZ10000000003499049

Almost forgot, schools can make their own rules on knives, so check with your administration. While violation may not be a crime, it can get still get you in trouble.
 
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I have to go to different UC campuses occasionally for conferences, so I have looked into this before. I carry a Spiderco Dragonfly, which is well under 2.5" so there is no question, on UC campuses and on the campus of the private university where I work.

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cach...df+ucla+police+knife&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

State law is 2.5" for fixed blades on university campuses. State law actually lets you carry a larger folder on a university campus, but individual campuses have their own "rules" that may be more stringent. I'm not sure these "rules" actually have the weight of law (???). If you carried a larger folder oncampus, you might get it confiscated and be asked to leave campus, but I don't think it would be a chargeable crime as such (???).

There is a better web site that includes folders up to 2.5" for UC campuses...but I can't find it at the moment.

LA county has a weird 3" law, so check that out as well.

http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/ca.txt
 
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Here's the initial paragraph of hte CA state law refgarding knives on university campuses:

"626.10. (a) Any person, except a duly appointed peace officer as
defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of
Part 2, a full-time paid peace officer of another state or the
federal government who is carrying out official duties while in this
state, a person summoned by any officer to assist in making arrests
or preserving the peace while the person is actually engaged in
assisting any officer, or a member of the military forces of this
state or the United States who is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick,
knife having a blade longer than 21/2 inches, folding knife with a
blade that locks into place, a razor with an unguarded blade, a
taser, or a stun gun, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 244.5,
any instrument that expels a metallic projectile such as a BB or a
pellet, through the force of air pressure, CO2 pressure, or spring
action, or any spot marker gun, upon the grounds of, or within, any
public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or any
of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, is guilty of a public offense,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by imprisonment in the state prison."

That's where they get the idea of locking blade being equal to a fixed blade. It's in the state law.

Get a folder or locker under 2 1/2 inches, carry it concealed or at least un-obviously, and you should be fine. I carry IWB on campus regularly, and have had no problem - but my faculty status may put me in a different category.
 
reconranger said:
On this site, they are saying that, "if the blade locks, then it is considered a fixed blade"....which is NOT the definition of a fixed blade according to state law! They are clearly overstepping by defining a locking folder (which state law allows you to carry concealed!) as a fixed blade!

http://ptplv.ais.ucla.edu/portal/si...toid=62e2cb405ca48110VgnVCM100000e1d76180RCRD
Click to expand...

not necessarily. for example, a city/county can impose laws with more restrictions, but not fewer, than a state law. this is the same as a state law relative to a federal law, etc.

being basically private property, their rules/regulations are written as they see fit, and can enforce same within thier perimeters.
 
Grampa said:
Here's the initial paragraph of hte CA state law refgarding knives on university campuses:

"626.10. (a) Any person, except a duly appointed peace officer as
defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of
Part 2, a full-time paid peace officer of another state or the
federal government who is carrying out official duties while in this
state, a person summoned by any officer to assist in making arrests
or preserving the peace while the person is actually engaged in
assisting any officer, or a member of the military forces of this
state or the United States who is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick,
knife having a blade longer than 21/2 inches, folding knife with a
blade that locks into place, a razor with an unguarded blade, a
taser, or a stun gun, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 244.5,
any instrument that expels a metallic projectile such as a BB or a
pellet, through the force of air pressure, CO2 pressure, or spring
action, or any spot marker gun, upon the grounds of, or within, any
public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or any
of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, is guilty of a public offense,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by imprisonment in the state prison."

That's where they get the idea of locking blade being equal to a fixed blade. It's in the state law.

Get a folder or locker under 2 1/2 inches, carry it concealed or at least un-obviously, and you should be fine. I carry IWB on campus regularly, and have had no problem - but my faculty status may put me in a different category.
Click to expand...


that is the wrong section, your post applies to k-12 schools.

626.10(b) applies to colleges and universities. this section does not prohibit folders in any way.

(b) Any person, except a duly appointed peace officer as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, a
full-time paid peace officer of another state or the federal
government who is carrying out official duties while in this state, a
person summoned by any officer to assist in making arrests or
preserving the peace while the person is actually engaged in
assisting any officer, or a member of the military forces of this
state or the United States who is engaged in the performance of his
or her duties, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice pick, or
knife having a fixed blade longer than 21/2 inches upon the grounds
of, or within, any private university, the University of California,
the California State University, or the California Community Colleges
is guilty of a public offense, punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment in the state
prison.
 
Is a UC campus considered a seperate "jurisdiction", that can make its own "local laws", seperate from the city where it is located?

Clearly they can make their own "rules", but whether these have the force of law is my question. The violation of a "rule", just means they throw you off campus, vs getting arrested for violating a real "law".
 
As a generality , Universities are often legally similar to municipal corporations , and their powers are created / sanctioned by an act of some kind . Again as a sweeping generality , they can augment , but not be more lienient than state law . I used to be a university cop many moons ago , our institution was the legal equivalent of a municipality .

Chris
 
reconranger said:
Is a UC campus considered a seperate "jurisdiction", that can make its own "local laws", seperate from the city where it is located?

Clearly they can make their own "rules", but whether these have the force of law is my question. The violation of a "rule", just means they throw you off campus, vs getting arrested for violating a real "law".
Click to expand...

it is policed by the ucla university police, but it is not a separate jurisdiction. they are within lapd's pacific division iirc.

they can enforce their rules on any school property, but would have to have legislation passed in order to create any new law.
 
docktrine said:
Hi, I'm completely new to knives in general so forgive me if I sound ignorant.

I'm in the ROTC program at UCLA. Recently we went on a field training exercise and one of the recommended, but not required, pieces of equipment was a knife no longer than 3 inches.

I looked up a couple of knives to buy but I need to know a couple of things first.

The knife is a Smith & Wesson® S.W.A.T.® M.A.G.I.C. Small Linerlock with Partially Serrated Teflon® Coated Blade.

It comes in three sizes, small, medium, and large
.

What are the blade lengths of each of these? Would they be legal to carry in Los Angeles? What is the policy about carrying these on school campus?
Click to expand...

Here is a link to a site that might clear up the legal issues.http://www.thehighroad.org/library/blades/knifelaws.html
 
The thought of a university police officer confiscating an ROTC student's knife seems absurd.

I carry a mini grip whenever I'm in Long Beach. (Well, okay, maybe I carry my AFCK too....) ;]

edit the minigriptilian, or benchmade 555 is 2 and 15/16ths inches.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
it is policed by the ucla university police, but it is not a separate jurisdiction. they are within lapd's pacific division iirc.

they can enforce their rules on any school property, but would have to have legislation passed in order to create any new law.
Click to expand...

Since UC and CSU campuses are state property, UC and CSU Police are state police with statewide jurisdiction. In practice, they generally concern themselves with the campus itself, and the surrounding areas.

My experience with university cops (used to work for a CSU Police Dept.) is that they tend to be mellower, older, better-educated and not as concerned with the fastidious enforcement of the law. If you don't make an issue of brandishing a knife at people while on campus, the police won't care (and they won't know either).
 
wutzu said:
Since UC and CSU campuses are state property, UC and CSU Police are state police with statewide jurisdiction. In practice, they generally concern themselves with the campus itself, and the surrounding areas.

My experience with university cops (used to work for a CSU Police Dept.) is that they tend to be mellower, older, better-educated and not as concerned with the fastidious enforcement of the law. If you don't make an issue of brandishing a knife at people while on campus, the police won't care (and they won't know either).
Click to expand...

not really sure what your point is, but all police officers in california have statewide jurisdiction, technically.
 
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