Paracord Bracelets

[Cupid_Stunt]

The only real use of paracord bracelets is to let preppers identify each other in public without saying anything.

Pretty much how I see it too. I usually have a couple metres of paracord but its halved, halved and halved again and knotted over itself. Handy for an emergency dog lead if I forget to put them round my neck or whatever else I can think off.

I'm far too much of a 'grey' kind of a cat to wear a paracord bracelet but each to their own.

Deeps - very much ditto. Grey man rules... if you scream "tacticool" you'll be the first man Mr Plod will look at, and then you'll be in a world of hurt (unless of course you are entirely within UK knife laws). I tend to have enough stuff on my person (a home made version of a Wazoo Cache belt, for example) plus what's in my car boot, to ensure I can keep away from the "people places" and avoid the inevitable Mr Plod checkpoints, etc.

[ukpreppergrrl]

Deeps - very much ditto. Grey man rules... if you scream "tacticool" you'll be the first man Mr Plod will look at, and then you'll be in a world of hurt (unless of course you are entirely within UK knife laws). I tend to have enough stuff on my person (a home made version of a Wazoo Cache belt, for example) plus what's in my car boot, to ensure I can keep away from the "people places" and avoid the inevitable Mr Plod checkpoints, etc.

Contrary to popular opinion "tacticool" is not the first man Mr Plod looks at. "Drug dealer" is the first man Mr Plod looks at. Someone who appears to be deliberately trying to avoid the police is high on the list for Mr Plod's attention. If you are "acting suspiciously" then you will attract Mr Plod's attention. Under the law, police must have "reasonable grounds" for stopping and searching you and that has been the case since 1984. Wearing a paracord bracelet alone is most definitely not reasonable grounds and if that is the only reason given then the search is unlawful and anything found as a result of the search is inadmissible. However, if the police have been given a report by a member of the public that a man, matching your description, in the location that you are found, wearing a paracord bracelet has been waiving a knife around or bragging about having items on his person which he intends to use for self-defence (i.e. is pre-armed vs instant arming), then the police do have reasonable grounds to stop and search you. And before anyone makes the comment, the police can't just "make up" the member of the public's report in order to have the grounds to search you. Even when a S.60 (s.60 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) is in place (I live in London, S.60s are in place quite a lot in the more dodgy areas usually after a stabbing when the police are worried that there will be tit-for-tat attacks) the police still have to have a reason to stop and search you. You've seen Line of Duty (though it's called the Department of Professional Standards or DPS in real life), the police are policed and they have to justify legally everything they do or they lose their job and are charged with a criminal offence. We live in a policed state, not a police state. There's a difference.

As for UK knife laws, unless your knife is illegal to own (e.g. flick knife, stiletto) providing you have a good reason to be carrying it in a public place then you can lug around a machete and still not be breaking any UK laws. If, however you have no "good reason or lawful justification" for carrying anything other than a non-locking, folding knife with a blade under 3 inches, then you are breaking the law whether you agree with it or not. Carrying for self-defence is illegal, and has been since 1953, as it means you are intending to hurt someone. Instant arming if you "have a genuine held belief that you are in danger of imminent violence against you or someone else" (I think is the wording) is not illegal as you did not intend to hurt them until you had a genuine belief that they were going to hurt you, and you are allowed to pre-emptively strike with proportionate force. But...and we return to the point above, you're only likely to get stopped and searched if you're doing something silly. Wearing a paracord bracelet, all black tacticool clothing, sunglasses etc. isn't going to get you stopped and searched, though comments may be made on your sartorial sense.

The laws of this country regarding these things are all available on line: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The one I'm quoting above with regard to stopping and searching is S.1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Other laws you should familiarise yourself with are s.139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and S.1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953. These relate to carrying sharply pointed or bladed items in a public place, or offensive weapons. By stating you are carrying a knife of any sort, or, for that matter, pretty much anything (e.g. baseball bat) for self-defence then you are carrying an intended offensive weapon contrary to s1 of the Criminal Justice Act, and this has been illegal since 1953 - these are not new laws! The police do know the laws under which they operate and they know that if they do not operate in accordance with the laws then they will be prosecuted. Obviously there are going to be bad apples in every barrel but they are few and far between. But that is why it is important that you know and fully understand the law yourself. The kind of comments above make us all sound like paranoid tin-foil hatted survivalists. You are also stating on an open forum that you are breaking the law, and don't think that euphemisms will get you off the hook. You should know the laws under which you live and the police operate. They don't make them up. They are honour bound to uphold them, even if they themselves do not agree with them. If you don't agree with a law, then lobby your MP to get it changed.

Sorry for the rant.

[cbp125]

The only real use of paracord bracelets is to let preppers identify each other in public without saying anything.

I thought the unsaid sign of a prepper is large trolleys of toilet roll...........................

[itsybitsy]

The only real use of paracord bracelets is to let preppers identify each other in public without saying anything.

I thought the unsaid sign of a prepper is large trolleys of toilet roll...........................

Not any more!

[featherstick]

The only real use of paracord bracelets is to let preppers identify each other in public without saying anything.

I thought the unsaid sign of a prepper is large trolleys of toilet roll...........................

No mate, that's a sign of a non-prepper. We've prepped. Have had no need to go running around this week, at all. Except for a printer for the kids' schoolwork.

[featherstick]

Deeps - very much ditto. Grey man rules... if you scream "tacticool" you'll be the first man Mr Plod will look at, and then you'll be in a world of hurt (unless of course you are entirely within UK knife laws). I tend to have enough stuff on my person (a home made version of a Wazoo Cache belt, for example) plus what's in my car boot, to ensure I can keep away from the "people places" and avoid the inevitable Mr Plod checkpoints, etc.

Contrary to popular opinion "tacticool" is not the first man Mr Plod looks at....

Sorry for the rant.

Great post Preppergrrl, thanks.

[Pointboy]

I’ve made many paracord bracelets. They are extremely easy to make, just a little harder to size correctly. There are many different knot types you can use such as the cobra knot, which is the most common for paracord bracelets. You can double up by creating a King Cobra Knot, which is much thicker and packs about a meter or so more cord. Fish tail knots are good for if you want to make a bracelet that isn’t so rugged looking and you are wanting to wear with more formal attire, as they are smaller, thinner but still hold around 1 meter of cord.

I have seen rucksacks where the cobra knot has been employed but on the grab handle of a bag. I currently have a paracord bracelet looped onto my Rush 12 with a metal screw clip.

There are many applications and many different ways of storing cord and a bracelet is a fine way of doing this.

[cbp125]

And before anyone makes the comment, the police can't just "make up" the member of the public's report in order to have the grounds to search you.

You've seen Line of Duty (though it's called the Department of Professional Standards or DPS in real life), the police are policed and they have to justify legally everything they do or they lose their job and are charged with a criminal offence. We live in a policed state, not a police state. There's a difference.

I served in the Police for several years and I searched lots and lots of people, I was NEVER challenged on any search made, I served a good few years ago now but back then 2000's we would search someone just for "looking oddly" at us, which was termed "acting suspiciously". I know quite a bit has changed due to osterity but the powers have not, bluntly if the police wish to search someone they will, the reason will be filled in later! However there was always and will always be a direct relationship between the officers attitued and complaints. You would be amazed at what police officers can do with a friendly smile and a nice explination.

I am not trying to challenge you as I do agree with you post, it is a very detailed explination, but I wanted to add my experiences for clarity.

One point I really do agree with you however is being careful what you type online, it is becoming increasingly common to find prosecutions based on online posts linked to your ip address, a very good reason for a VPN as well as not telling the world what you carry/want to do etc