While pocketknives and box cutters may be considered utilitarian, think again before bringing them anywhere near or inside Pierce College’s campus.Possession of anything that might be used as a lethal weapon is forbidden on the college campus or at a college-sponsored function, except to sworn peace officers, police officers and other government employees charged with policing responsibilities.That isn’t to say that all pocketknives are legal outside of campus.Switchblades, which California penal codes define as any blade that can be released by a spring mechanism or the weight of the blade, are illegal to sell or possess.Public possession of a knife is only legal when the blade is no larger than four inches.However, when it comes to K-12 school grounds, a whole new set of laws is in place. While possession of any blade or weapon on campus is grounds for suspension and/or expulsion, possession of a fixed blade or any blade bigger than 2.5 inches is grounds for imprisonment.According to California Penal Code 12020, possession any of the following items is punishable by imprisonment: an undetectable firearm, cane or wallet gun, zip gun, belt buckle knife, blackjack (a short metal club wrapped in leather), billy (a short club), or a concealed dagger.While weapons scarcely make an appearance at Pierce, two notable offenses occurred in October.According to the crime logs available at the Sheriff’s Office, an armed robbery was committed Oct. 2 at 7:40 p.m., when two suspects attacked a victim sitting in his car in Lot 1.The suspects have not been caught, according to Deputy Alfred Guerrero.At 7 p.m. on Halloween, a student was attacked by two men with brass knuckles — metal devices shaped to fit around the knuckles in order to inflict a more severe strike.The struggle was determined to be the result of a conflict between families. Both suspects were arrested and the victim recovered from his injuries.”The majority of the students here are here to learn, and they don’t need any weapons,” said Guerrero. “They’re here to just improve themselves with education. We’re talking 99.9 percent of them.”
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