Main offence groups
Weapons possession
Possession of weapons offences. This is not a count of all knife-enabled crime.
This page contains a published snapshot. The interactive comparison shows the latest validated data and its actual dates. Monthly source checks do not create new monthly official observations.
Compare weapons possession interactively
England and Wales reference
- Recorded offences
- 63,732
- Resident-population rate
- 1.0 per 1,000
The national reference includes British Transport Police. Territorial force and regional totals exclude it.
Police force areas
| Area | Recorded offences | Resident-population rate | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avon and Somerset | 1,257 | 0.7 per 1,000 | +17.3% |
| Bedfordshire | 671 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +24.9% |
| Cambridgeshire | 1,191 | 1.3 per 1,000 | +13.2% |
| Cheshire | 875 | 0.8 per 1,000 | +14.1% |
| City of London | 48 | Unavailable | Unavailable — ONS suppresses this percentage change because it is based on fewer than 50 offences. |
| Cleveland | 790 | 1.3 per 1,000 | +7.8% |
| Cumbria | 566 | 1.1 per 1,000 | +13.0% |
| Derbyshire | 1,123 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +17.5% |
| Devon and Cornwall | 1,657 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +3.8% |
| Dorset | 416 | 0.5 per 1,000 | -8.2% |
| Durham | 573 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +10.2% |
| Dyfed-Powys | 442 | 0.8 per 1,000 | +5.0% |
| Essex | 1,793 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +12.7% |
| Gloucestershire | 462 | 0.7 per 1,000 | +3.4% |
| Greater Manchester | 5,172 | 1.7 per 1,000 | +3.2% |
| Gwent | 666 | 1.1 per 1,000 | +27.1% |
| Hampshire | 2,259 | 1.1 per 1,000 | +10.4% |
| Hertfordshire | 855 | 0.7 per 1,000 | +12.3% |
| Humberside | 913 | 0.9 per 1,000 | 0.0% |
| Kent | 1,904 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +5.7% |
| Lancashire | 1,816 | 1.1 per 1,000 | +10.0% |
| Leicestershire | 781 | 0.7 per 1,000 | +8.5% |
| Lincolnshire | 453 | 0.6 per 1,000 | +11.0% |
| Merseyside | 1,415 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +17.2% |
| Metropolitan Police | 7,624 | 0.8 per 1,000 | +22.2% |
| Norfolk | 818 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +3.9% |
| North Wales | 560 | 0.8 per 1,000 | +23.1% |
| North Yorkshire | 526 | 0.6 per 1,000 | +17.4% |
| Northamptonshire | 933 | 1.1 per 1,000 | -9.2% |
| Northumbria | 1,429 | 0.9 per 1,000 | -4.0% |
| Nottinghamshire | 1,635 | 1.4 per 1,000 | -4.2% |
| South Wales | 1,263 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +18.6% |
| South Yorkshire | 2,039 | 1.4 per 1,000 | -4.1% |
| Staffordshire | 1,242 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +9.2% |
| Suffolk | 683 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +12.2% |
| Surrey | 850 | 0.7 per 1,000 | +12.9% |
| Sussex | 2,502 | 1.4 per 1,000 | +0.1% |
| Thames Valley | 1,400 | 0.5 per 1,000 | -10.4% |
| Warwickshire | 605 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +12.4% |
| West Mercia | 1,002 | 0.7 per 1,000 | -3.4% |
| West Midlands | 6,903 | 2.3 per 1,000 | +10.3% |
| West Yorkshire | 2,348 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +8.3% |
| Wiltshire | 461 | 0.6 per 1,000 | +14.1% |
Regions and Wales
| Area | Recorded offences | Resident-population rate | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4,925 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +2.2% |
| East of England | 6,011 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +12.6% |
| London | 7,672 | 0.8 per 1,000 | +21.4% |
| North East | 2,792 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +1.9% |
| North West | 9,844 | 1.3 per 1,000 | +7.7% |
| South East | 8,915 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +2.9% |
| South West | 4,253 | 0.7 per 1,000 | +7.1% |
| Wales | 2,931 | 0.9 per 1,000 | +18.9% |
| West Midlands | 9,752 | 1.6 per 1,000 | +8.7% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 5,826 | 1.0 per 1,000 | +3.0% |
Areas are alphabetical. Counts cover the stated rolling year. Rates are unavailable where resident-population comparison is unsuitable; published percentage-change suppressions are retained. Categories overlap and must not be summed.
Notes and official sources
- The England and Wales reference includes British Transport Police except for firearm offences. Regional and territorial-force comparisons exclude it. London regional totals include City of London.
- Main offence groups and their detailed components overlap. Knife-enabled and firearm offences also overlap other categories. Never add parent groups, their components and weapon-enabled measures together.
- Published ONS percentage-change suppressions are preserved, including small-base suppressions. Some observations have counts but no published comparable change.
- Standard offence histories contain quarterly rolling-year totals. Knife-enabled and firearm histories retain the actual published annual dates and latest equivalent rolling years; intervening quarterly observations are not estimated. Historical weapon rates are unavailable before a matching ONS population estimate exists.
- An April 2025 clarification of police counting rules increased the recording of business robbery during shop theft involving violence or threats. Changes in robbery and shoplifting across this date can reflect the recording change as well as changes in crime.
- ONS police force area crime tables — published 22 October 2026
- Home Office revised quarterly recorded crime open data — published 22 October 2026
- ONS police force area mid-year population estimates — published 12 August 2026