Civometry

Possession of weapons (police-recorded): record highs and lows

The extremes of possession of weapons (police-recorded) as published by ONS, across the 24 periods held here (Year ending March 2003 to Year ending March 2026). Each record is a published figure, not a computed one, and the scope is this series — not “ever”.

The latest figure, 62,347 in Year ending March 2026, is the highest in the whole published series of 24 periods. The rule: a period counts as beaten only when its figure is strictly below the latest, and the claim is only made when it reaches back at least five years.

Highest published

62,347Year ending March 2026

Lowest published

19,910Year ending March 2013

The full series

Possession of weapons (police-recorded): Year ending March 2003 to Year ending March 2026LabourLabourLabourLabourCoalitionCoalitionConservativeConservativeConservativeConservativeLabour020k40k60k20052010201520202025Year ending March 2003: 36,379 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2004: 39,021 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2005: 40,605 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2006: 39,711 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2007: 38,937 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2008: 37,079 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2009: 35,662 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2010: 28,758 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2011: 26,327 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2012: 23,688 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2013: 19,910 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2014: 20,623 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2015: 21,890 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2016: 25,835 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2017: 31,316 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2018: 39,059 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2019: 46,493 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2020: 47,685 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2021: 44,703 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2022: 49,024 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2023: 57,648 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2024: 58,325 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2025: 57,746 offences · published 23 July 2026Year ending March 2026: 62,347 offences · published 23 July 2026
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value

What a record here is, and is not

A record is the extreme of the periods this site holds for the current series, at each period’s newest published release. Earlier series measured under different methods are not compared against it. Money is in cash terms: a record set years ago stands against the money of its own year.