Gun Violence in the UK 2026
Gun violence in the United Kingdom occupies a position almost without parallel among comparable high-income nations: it is statistically among the rarest forms of serious violence in British society, constrained by some of the world’s most stringent firearms legislation, a deeply embedded cultural tradition of civilian disarmament, and a policing model in which the vast majority of frontline officers carry no firearm whatsoever. According to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Home Office — the two primary government authorities responsible for crime statistics in England and Wales — total firearms offences fell to 5,103 in the year ending March 2025, representing a 21% year-on-year decrease and the lowest recorded figure since March 2015. A further decline to 4,851 offences in the year ending September 2025 confirmed the trajectory, pushing gun crime to its lowest level since comparable police recording began in 2003, a dramatic fall from the peak of 11,088 offences recorded in the year ending March 2006.
What makes the 2026 UK gun violence landscape especially significant is the breadth and speed of the most recent decline. While annual decreases in the range of 1% to 9% had been the norm between 2018 and 2024, the 21% single-year reduction in 2024/25 broke that pattern dramatically, with imitation firearms showing the steepest fall at 30% and handgun offences declining 12% — a result partly attributed to the February 2025 firearms amnesty that specifically targeted convertible blank-firing weapons, which had been implicated in several murders after being illegally modified to fire live ammunition. Yet even as headline numbers improve, the data reveals persistent geographic concentrations in London, Birmingham, and Manchester, an evolving threat from 3D-printed “ghost guns,” and a licensing landscape that has seen record numbers of firearms certificates refused and revoked as police apply revised statutory guidance more rigorously than at any point in the modern records. This article draws exclusively on verified data from the Office for National Statistics, the Home Office, the House of Commons Library, and the National Crime Agency, to present an accurate, comprehensive statistical picture of gun violence in the UK in 2026.
UK Gun Violence Key Facts in 2026
Before exploring detailed statistical breakdowns, the following key facts establish the fundamental scope and structure of gun violence in the United Kingdom today.
GUN VIOLENCE KEY FACTS SNAPSHOT — UK 2026
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Firearms Offences (YE Mar 2025) ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 5,103 (10-year low)
Firearms Offences (YE Sep 2025) ███████░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 4,851 (lowest since 2003)
Year-on-Year Decrease (YE Mar 2025) ████████████████████ −21% (largest since 2006)
Shooting Homicides (YE Mar 2025) ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 32
Shooting Homicides (YE Sep 2025) ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ~29 (falling)
Firearm Homicide Rate per 1M pop. ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ~0.5 (among lowest globally)
Firearm Certificates on Issue (Mar 2025) ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 145,306
Shotgun Certificates on Issue (Mar 2024) ████████████████░░░░ 496,105
Police Armed Operations (YE Mar 2025) ████████████████░░░░ 17,249
| Key Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total firearms offences, year ending March 2025 | 5,103 (lowest since March 2015) |
| Total firearms offences, year ending September 2025 | 4,851 (lowest since records began in 2003) |
| Year-on-year decrease, year ending March 2025 | −21% (from 6,449 in 2023/24) |
| Historic peak of firearms offences | 11,088 (year ending March 2006) |
| Shooting homicides, year ending March 2025 | 32 (6% of all homicides) |
| Shooting homicides, year ending September 2025 | Down further in line with wider trend |
| Firearm fatalities rate per million population | Approximately 0.5 (among world’s lowest) |
| Ten-year average of firearm fatalities | 28 deaths per year |
| Total police firearms operations (YE March 2025) | 17,249 |
| Firearm certificates on issue (March 2025) | 145,306 |
| Shotgun certificates on issue (March 2024) | 496,105 |
| Total certificate holders (England and Wales, 2024) | 510,717 |
| UK gun ownership rate vs US | Approximately 15 per 100 people (UK) vs 120 per 100 (US) |
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Crime in England and Wales: Year Ending September 2025, published January 2026; House of Commons Library Research Briefing CBP-7654, Firearm Crime Statistics: England and Wales, updated June 2026; Home Office, Firearm and Shotgun Certificates April 2024 to March 2025, published June 2025
The decline of firearms offences to 4,851 in the year ending September 2025 — confirmed directly by the ONS in its January 2026 Crime in England and Wales bulletin — represents a threshold not crossed since comparable police recording practices began in March 2003, effectively erasing more than two decades of fluctuation and returning England and Wales to a baseline that predates the recorded data. This achievement is particularly significant given the backdrop of a much higher peak: in the year ending March 2006, 11,088 firearms offences were recorded, meaning the UK has now achieved a more than 56% reduction from its worst-ever point to the current record low.
The 32 shooting homicides recorded in the year ending March 2025, while representing a modest increase from 22 in the prior year, remain well within the long-term ten-year average of approximately 28 annual firearm deaths and represent just 6% of all 522 homicides recorded in that same period — a proportion that starkly contrasts with the approximately 80% of US homicides attributable to firearms. When expressed as a rate, the UK’s firearm homicide figure translates to approximately 0.5 deaths per million population per year, placing Britain firmly in the same category as Iceland, Japan, and the Netherlands as nations where gun deaths are so rare they attract individual media coverage — a fundamentally different relationship with firearms than that experienced by most comparable Western nations, and a direct product of the legislative architecture built around the Firearms Act 1968 and its successive amendments.
UK Firearms Offences by Type in 2025
The type of firearm involved in an offence provides critical intelligence for law enforcement and policy, and the ONS and House of Commons Library data for 2024/25 reveals a landscape dominated by imitation weapons, with handguns leading among actual firearms.
FIREARMS OFFENCES BY WEAPON TYPE — ENGLAND & WALES (YE MAR 2025)
===================================================================
(Number of offences, House of Commons Library data)
Imitation firearms ████████████████████ ~30% of all non-air offences (largest single category)
Handguns ████████████████░░░░ Approx. 32% of non-air offences
Shotguns █████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Notable share; rural crime
Rifles ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Smaller share
Unidentified firearms ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 18% of offences (909 incidents)
YEAR-ON-YEAR CHANGE (YE Mar 2025 vs YE Mar 2024):
Imitation firearms ████████████████████ −30% (steepest decline of any category)
Handguns ████████████████░░░░ −12%
Unidentified firearms ████████████████████ −25% (YE Sep 2025 vs prior year)
| Weapon Type | Share / Volume | Year-on-Year Change |
|---|---|---|
| Imitation firearms (largest category) | Approximately 30% of all non-air offences | −30% (steepest single-year fall) |
| Handguns | Approximately 32% of non-air offences | −12% |
| Unidentified firearms | 18% (909 incidents) | −25% (YE September 2025) |
| Shotguns | Smaller but notable share | Declining trend |
| Rifles | Smaller proportion | Relatively stable |
| Total non-air offences (YE Sep 2025) | 4,851 | −9% from prior year |
| Handgun offences (YE Sep 2025) | 1,574 | −12% from prior year |
| Handguns: most common actual firearm (2010–2021) | 37% of non-air offences in 2020/21 | Long-term trend confirmed |
| Historic peak of non-air offences | 11,088 (YE March 2006) | −56% to current level |
Source: House of Commons Library, CBP-7654, Firearm Crime Statistics England and Wales, June 2026; ONS, Crime in England and Wales: Year Ending September 2025, January 2026; The World Data, citing ONS and National Crime Agency National Strategic Assessment 2025
The 30% single-year decline in imitation firearms offences is the standout story in the 2024/25 data, directly linked by researchers and law enforcement to the February 2025 firearms amnesty that specifically required owners of convertible blank-firing handguns — legally purchased replica weapons that had been found modifiable to fire real ammunition — to surrender their weapons to police without penalty. The National Crime Agency’s National Strategic Assessment 2025 identified convertible blank-firers as a significant route by which organised crime networks had been obtaining functional weapons without the risk and expense associated with smuggling fully operational firearms, making the amnesty and reclassification one of the more impactful single policy interventions in recent UK gun crime statistics.
Despite this good news, the 18% of offences involving unidentified firearms — accounting for 909 individual incidents even in a record-low year — underscores a persistent challenge in firearms intelligence: a meaningful share of offences involve weapons that are either never recovered, described only vaguely by victims or witnesses, or deployed solely to intimidate without being discharged. This category is also where the growing threat of 3D-printed “ghost guns” is most likely to eventually appear in statistics, since weapons manufactured without serial numbers and assembled from downloadable blueprints are, almost by definition, difficult to categorise within existing classification systems. Law enforcement agencies including the Metropolitan Police and National Crime Agency have flagged this as an emerging intelligence gap heading into the second half of the decade.
UK Gun Violence by Region and Police Force Area in 2025
Geographic concentration is one of the most consistent features of UK firearms crime, with London, Birmingham, and Manchester accounting for a disproportionate share of total offences while rural areas with high licensed ownership report minimal firearms crime.
FIREARMS OFFENCES BY REGION — ENGLAND & WALES (YE MAR 2025)
===============================================================
Metropolitan Police (London) ████████████████████ 22% of ALL non-air firearm offences
West Midlands (Birmingham area ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ Second highest volume
Greater Manchester ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ Third highest volume
RATE PER 100,000 POPULATION (YE Mar 2025):
Bedfordshire (highest rate) ████████████████████ 18.0 per 100,000
West Midlands █████████████████░░░ 15.3 per 100,000
Suffolk (lowest rate) █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 1.3 per 100,000
LICENSED OWNERSHIP vs CRIME (example):
North Yorkshire ownership: ████████████████████ 3,029 firearms per 100,000 (highest in England)
North Yorkshire crime: ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 472 offences (9th lowest in country)
| Region / Force Area | Statistic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Police Service (London) share of national offences | 22% of all non-air firearm offences | House of Commons Library, CBP-7654 |
| West Midlands Police | Second-highest volume nationally | Same source |
| Greater Manchester | Third-highest volume nationally | Same source |
| Bedfordshire Police (highest offence rate per 100,000) | 18.0 per 100,000 population | House of Commons Library, CBP-7654 |
| West Midlands (second-highest rate per 100,000) | 15.3 per 100,000 population | Same source |
| Suffolk (lowest rate per 100,000) | 1.3 per 100,000 population | Same source |
| North Yorkshire: licensed firearm certificates | 6,588 (highest in England, 3,029 per 100,000) | Get Licensed UK Firearm Ownership Report, 2025 |
| North Yorkshire: total firearms offences | 472 (9th lowest in England and Wales) | Same source |
| Dyfed-Powys (Wales): highest certificate density | Nearly 2,500 certificate holders per 100,000 | Same source |
| London comparison to rural areas | Urban deprivation, gangs, illegal imports drive disparity | NCA National Strategic Assessment 2025 |
Source: House of Commons Library Research Briefing CBP-7654, June 2026; Get Licensed, UK Firearm Ownership and Offences 2025 Report, August 2025, citing Home Office and ONS data; National Crime Agency, National Strategic Assessment 2025
The statistic that the Metropolitan Police accounted for 22% of all non-air firearm offences in England and Wales — while policing roughly 13% of the national population — confirms London’s disproportionate position in UK gun crime. However, the more instructive comparison is between volume and rate: while London records the highest absolute number of offences, it is Bedfordshire — a smaller force area with significant urban poverty concentrated in Luton — that leads on the per-capita rate at 18.0 offences per 100,000 people, followed by West Midlands at 15.3 per 100,000, a rate heavily influenced by firearms activity in Birmingham’s most deprived communities. These patterns consistently reflect the well-documented relationship between gun crime, gang activity, drug markets, and urban poverty rather than licensed civilian ownership.
The North Yorkshire comparison is the clearest demonstration of this point available in the data: despite holding the highest licensed firearms density of any police force area in England — with 3,029 firearms certificates per 100,000 residents — North Yorkshire recorded just 472 total offences over the year, placing it among the lowest crime rates in the country. This paradox, replicated across Dyfed-Powys, Cumbria, and other rural forces with high certificate densities, reinforces the NCA’s consistent finding that the overwhelming majority of gun crime does not involve legally licensed firearms but rather smuggled, converted, or illegally manufactured weapons circulating within organised crime networks. Rural firearms ownership — overwhelmingly concentrated among farmers, gamekeepers, and sport shooters — operates in a separate universe from the urban gang-related firearms offences that dominate the national headlines.
UK Firearms Licensing and Ownership Statistics in 2025
Legal firearm ownership in the UK is tightly controlled through a certificate system administered by police forces, with the latest Home Office data revealing both the scale of licensed ownership and an unprecedented wave of certificate refusals and revocations.
LICENSED FIREARMS OWNERSHIP — ENGLAND & WALES (MARCH 2025)
==============================================================
Firearm certificates on issue (March 2025) ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 145,306 (−1.4% YoY)
Shotgun certificates on issue (March 2024) ████████████████████ 496,105
Total certificate holders (March 2024) ████████████████░░░░ 510,717 (lowest since 2016)
Firearms covered by certificates (March 2024) ████████████████░░░░ 624,245 firearms
DEMOGRAPHICS OF CERTIFICATE HOLDERS:
Female certificate holders ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 6.4% only
Male certificate holders ████████████████████ 93.6%
Rural vs urban concentration ████████████████████ Overwhelmingly rural/farming
YOUNGEST CERTIFICATE HOLDERS:
Youngest shotgun certificate holder ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 7 years old
Youngest firearm certificate holder ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 14 years old
| Licensing / Ownership Metric | Statistic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Firearm certificates on issue (31 March 2025) | 145,306 (−1% vs 2024) | Home Office, Firearm & Shotgun Certificates April 2024–March 2025 |
| Firearm certificates on issue (31 March 2024, comparison) | 147,364 | Same source |
| Shotgun certificates on issue (31 March 2024) | 496,105 | Home Office, certificates April 2023–March 2024 |
| Total certificate holders (both types, March 2024) | 510,717 | Same source |
| Firearms covered by firearm certificates (March 2024) | 624,245 (57% rifles, 33% sound moderators) | Same source |
| Shotguns covered by shotgun certificates (March 2024) | 1,345,973 (99% section 2 shotguns) | Same source |
| Female share of certificate holders | 6.4% | Get Licensed, UK Firearm Ownership Report 2025 |
| Refused and revoked certificates (2023–24 and 2024–25) | At highest level since comparable records began | Home Office, June 2025 |
| Certificate holders (per 100,000 population, March 2025) | 1,029 per 100,000 (highest per-capita in recent years) | Get Licensed, 2025 |
| Youngest shotgun certificate holder (March 2025) | 7 years old | Get Licensed, citing Home Office data |
| Youngest firearm certificate holder (March 2025) | 14 years old | Home Office, June 2025 |
Source: Home Office, Firearm and Shotgun Certificates April 2024 to March 2025, published June 18, 2025; Home Office, Firearm and Shotgun Certificates April 2023 to March 2024; Get Licensed, UK Firearm Ownership and Offences 2025 Report, August 2025
The decline in total certificate holders to 510,717 — the lowest since comparable figures were published from March 2016 — reflects a progressive tightening of the licensing regime that accelerated following the introduction of revised statutory guidance for police in February 2023. This guidance, among the most significant updates to firearms licensing practice in a generation, specifically required police forces to consider relevant medical information about applicants, including mental health history, before issuing or renewing certificates — a change directly tied to several historical tragedies involving licensed firearm holders. The consequence has been that refused and revoked certificates in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 reached their highest levels since comparable records began, confirming that the new guidance is being applied vigorously across police forces.
A notable paradox within the licensing data is that while the absolute number of certificate holders has fallen, the per-capita rate has risen to 1,029 per 100,000 — the highest in several years — because the overall national population has grown faster than certificates have declined. This per-capita measure, combined with the data showing that the average number of shotguns held per shotgun certificate has risen steadily from 2.3-2.4 to 2.7 since 2020, suggests that while fewer individuals now hold licences, the average certificate holder is acquiring and retaining slightly more weapons per licence than in previous years. The overwhelmingly male (93.6%) and rural character of UK certificate holders further underscores the fundamental distinction between the UK’s legal firearms culture — rooted in agriculture, pest control, and sport shooting — and the criminal firearms threat, which originates almost entirely from illegal and unregistered weapons circulating within organised crime networks.
UK Shooting Deaths and Homicide Statistics in 2025
Shooting deaths represent the most serious manifestation of firearms crime, and the ONS homicide data for 2024/25 provides the clearest available picture of how rarely firearms contribute to lethal violence in the UK.
UK SHOOTING HOMICIDES — TREND DATA (ONS)
==========================================
YE March 2023 ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 27 shooting homicides
YE March 2024 ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 22 shooting homicides (historic low)
YE March 2025 ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 32 shooting homicides
Ten-year average ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ~28 annually
AS SHARE OF ALL HOMICIDES (YE Mar 2025):
Knife/sharp instrument ████████████████████ 39% (205 of 522)
Shooting ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 6% (32 of 522)
Other methods ████████████████░░░░ 55%
GENDER OF SHOOTING VICTIMS (YE Mar 2025):
Male victims ████████████████████ 72%
Female victims ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 28%
| Shooting Homicide Metric | Statistic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shooting homicides, year ending March 2025 | 32 | House of Commons Library CBP-7654, June 2026 |
| Shooting homicides, year ending March 2024 | 22 (historic low at time) | Same source |
| Shooting homicides, year ending March 2023 | 27 | Same source |
| Ten-year average of annual firearm fatalities | Approximately 28 per year | The World Data, citing ONS |
| Shooting homicides as share of all homicides (YE Mar 2025) | 6% | House of Commons Library, June 2026 |
| Total homicides, year ending March 2025 | 522 | ONS, February 2026 |
| Knife/sharp instrument share of homicides | 39% (205 of 522) | ONS, Crime in England and Wales |
| Male shooting victims (YE March 2025) | 72% | House of Commons Library, June 2026 |
| Female shooting victims (YE March 2025) | 28% | Same source |
| Homicide rate, year ending September 2025 | 8.1 per million (lowest since 2003) | ONS, January 2026 |
| Total homicides, year ending September 2025 | 499 (lowest since 2003) | ONS, January 2026 |
Source: House of Commons Library, Research Briefing CBP-7654, Firearm Crime Statistics: England and Wales, updated June 2026, citing ONS; ONS, Crime in England and Wales: Year Ending September 2025, published January 29, 2026; Statista, citing ONS firearm homicide data, February 2026
The 32 shooting homicides recorded in the year ending March 2025 must be understood within two simultaneous contexts: it represents a 45% increase from the 22 recorded in 2023/24, a fact that risks misinterpretation, and it also sits well within the long-run ten-year average of approximately 28 annual firearm deaths, meaning no significant upward structural shift is apparent in the data. This year-on-year volatility in very small absolute numbers is a mathematical inevitability when dealing with totals as low as 20–35 annual deaths in a nation of 68 million people: a change of even five or ten incidents produces large percentage swings that carry none of the significance they would in a country with hundreds or thousands of annual shooting deaths.
The gender breakdown of shooting victims — 72% male and 28% female — aligns with the well-documented global pattern of firearms violence being concentrated among men, particularly in the context of gang-related and organised crime disputes that account for a significant proportion of UK shooting deaths. The parallel headline from the ONS’s broader homicide data — that 499 total homicides were recorded in the year ending September 2025, the lowest figure since current recording practices began in 2003, with an overall homicide rate of just 8.1 per million — provides essential context for shooting deaths: the UK’s firearms problem is not simply rare in absolute terms; it is rare within an already low-violence national environment in which even knife crime and unarmed violence are declining toward multi-decade lows simultaneously.
UK Police Use of Firearms and Armed Operations in 2025
Despite being one of the most prominent symbols of UK policing’s distinctive non-armed tradition, police firearms operations remain a significant and well-tracked dimension of the British law enforcement response to gun violence.
POLICE FIREARMS OPERATIONS — ENGLAND & WALES (YE MAR 2025)
================================================================
Total armed operations ████████████████░░░░ 17,249
Incidents involving ARVs ████████████████████ Majority of operations
Times firearms actually discharged █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Very rare (single or low double digits)
Unarmed officers as % of police ████████████████████ ~94% carry no firearm on duty
UK vs US POLICING MODEL:
UK police armed per 100 officers ███░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ~6% routinely armed
US police officers ████████████████████ 100% routinely armed
| Police Firearms Metric | Statistic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total police firearms operations (YE March 2025) | 17,249 | Home Office, Police Use of Firearms Statistics April 2024–March 2025 |
| Primary response unit | Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) | Same source |
| Percentage of UK police officers routinely armed | Approximately 6% | Parliament/Home Office guidance |
| Unarmed officers as proportion of total police | Approximately 94% | Same source |
| Frequency of police discharging firearms | Very rare — typically single or low double digits annually | Home Office, Police Use of Firearms Statistics |
| Scotland comparison | Firearms incidents “rare,” second lowest since records began | Parliament of Scotland Written Evidence, 2022 |
| Northern Ireland | Separately governed; historically elevated officer arming due to security history | Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 |
| Diplomatic protection / specialist operations | Routinely armed for specific protective duties | Metropolitan Police / Counter Terrorism Policing |
Source: Home Office, Police Use of Firearms Statistics: April 2024 to March 2025, published July 2025; Parliament UK, Firearms Licensing Regulations in Scotland, Written Evidence, December 2022; Wikipedia, Firearms Regulation in the United Kingdom, updated June 2026
The 17,249 police firearms operations conducted in England and Wales during the year ending March 2025 represent a substantial operational commitment, yet it is crucial to understand what these figures actually capture: the term “firearms operation” includes any deployment involving armed officers, which encompasses protective duties around embassies, responses to armed robbery calls, counter-terrorism operations, and the deployment of Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs) — not just incidents where weapons were brandished or discharged. The actual number of times police firearms were discharged in any operational context typically runs to a very small number of single or low double-digit incidents per year, reflecting the extraordinarily rare circumstances in which British officers face threats that require lethal force in response.
This tradition of largely unarmed policing — in which approximately 94% of frontline officers carry no firearm as part of their routine duties — is a direct product of the same cultural and legislative consensus that produces the UK’s low rates of civilian gun violence. When police routinely carrying weapons is the norm, as in the United States, research consistently shows that interactions between officers and the public involving firearms escalate at higher rates than in consent-based, community-rooted policing models of the British type. Scotland’s Police Scotland service reinforces this national picture, with parliamentary evidence confirming that firearms incidents in Scotland remain at near-record lows and that the country’s centralised, unified licensing system — processing 99.53% of certificate renewals within the required timescale — is held up as the most efficient and rigorous in the entire United Kingdom.
Disclaimer: The data research report we present here is based on information found from various sources. We are not liable for any financial loss, errors, or damages of any kind that may result from the use of the information herein. We acknowledge that though we try to report accurately, we cannot verify the absolute facts of everything that has been represented.
