‘Killer' books ban

Press, 27 September 1983, Page 18

‘Killer ' books ban

PA Wellington Three books on making guns and munitions, one of them published by the United States War Office, have been declared indecent by the Indecent Publications Tribunal.

So has another, dedicated to the United States armed forces, which contains step-by-step instructions on how to kill with the bare hands. The tribunal noted in its decision, released on Friday that the word “indecent” is defined in the act as including “describing, depicting,

expressing or otherwise dealing with matters of sex, horror, crime, cruelty or violence in a manner that is injurious to the public good.”

Said the tribunal: “Publications which could very easily lead members of the public to criminal offending can properly be classified as indecent. All these books come within that classification.”

The four books were seized from various individuals over the last year. The volume published by

the War Office, in 1969, showed how to make explosives, detonators, propellants and similar items from indigenous materials, mainly from items obtainable without very much difficulty by members of the public.

The tribunal said the book on killing with the bare hands might well be of use to American soldiers and special agents, as it said. “But in the. hands of persons with violent dispositions, it could be very dangerous?