The number of persons convicted of illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each year since 1997 by police force area is shown in the following tables.
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Avon and Somerset 29 21 34 24 43 57 44 51 45 61 Bedfordshire 9 9 11 13 14 8 11 31 17 25 Cambridgeshire 11 13 10 13 18 23 15 12 33 20 Cheshire 25 29 25 35 27 31 17 35 51 48 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 20 12 18 20 28 25 31 30 20 35 Cumbria 20 20 21 15 21 15 22 17 27 26 Derbyshire 26 22 28 20 26 31 36 46 41 37 Devon and Cornwall 22 16 16 32 24 28 41 42 53 42 Dorset 6 9 12 13 9 13 13 14 17 24 Durham 24 23 33 34 39 36 27 42 39 56 Essex 56 52 37 43 61 46 62 97 62 83 Gloucestershire 11 21 7 13 12 14 15 18 22 15 Greater Manchester 85 103 105 129 193 175 149 201 181 185 Hampshire 50 55 46 63 85 72 78 88 88 94 Hertfordshire 11 12 8 25 16 10 27 40 43 37 Humberside 16 29 37 34 36 34 40 48 46 55 Kent 33 41 33 43 51 29 35 34 47 50 Lancashire 51 30 39 55 59 53 59 84 87 81 Leicestershire 31 35 26 34 35 41 43 45 40 48 Lincolnshire 8 27 13 15 21 17 23 27 14 22 Merseyside 68 71 48 57 64 63 67 87 96 96 Metropolitan Police 335 336 347 435 679 686 550 631 682 713 Norfolk 16 19 12 16 20 11 29 21 22 21 North Yorkshire 15 8 19 16 10 20 19 28 22 31 Northamptonshire 5 12 15 10 4 7 0 5 1 4 Northumbria 68 98 98 103 125 141 119 138 143 100 Nottinghamshire 20 34 29 44 63 48 55 59 70 64 South Yorkshire 31 35 41 57 58 80 62 63 75 80 Staffordshire3 25 19 25 4— 31 31 35 42 50 37 Suffolk 13 9 19 12 12 27 26 24 42 38 Surrey 7 10 6 20 24 12 15 22 19 19 Sussex 14 21 23 32 43 30 43 55 66 57 Thames Valley 28 32 23 23 43 39 27 36 65 75 Warwickshire 11 12 9 11 9 7 10 15 9 15 West Mercia 12 19 18 12 41 28 28 36 52 59 West Midlands 82 95 82 135 200 180 140 158 163 186 West Yorkshire 54 44 70 65 65 76 105 121 110 112 Wiltshire 9 18 17 9 13 29 17 19 32 34 Dyfed-Powys 6 13 5 15 6 10 11 10 15 14 Gwent 15 11 20 19 19 12 17 31 23 33 North Wales 13 17 13 34 28 32 17 27 40 28 South Wales 36 43 39 49 55 53 55 58 45 56 Total 1,427 1,555 1,537 1,847 2,430 2,380 2,235 2,688 2,815 2,916 1 These data are on the principal offence basis 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. 4 Nil. Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice. Cur reference: PQ 176295 (Table 3)
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Avon and Somerset 179 209 213 179 186 214 279 243 252 277 Bedfordshire 57 78 58 67 64 88 109 105 142 116 Cambridgeshire 64 92 79 54 69 86 88 102 101 118 Cheshire 143 123 119 114 91 112 115 119 164 162 City of London 26 15 10 11 18 37 31 33 28 17 Cleveland 68 85 67 81 81 131 133 159 150 160 Cumbria 63 83 68 64 57 64 73 91 91 79 Derbyshire 127 96 128 112 133 131 147 193 183 170 Devon and Cornwall 176 193 180 141 173 208 243 212 232 232 Dorset 44 76 68 72 69 82 92 110 124 96 Durham 85 110 117 122 113 128 126 131 182 154 Essex 195 202 195 181 196 196 211 303 292 279 Gloucestershire 62 80 44 50 65 75 65 82 95 78 Greater Manchester 515 648 543 500 576 580 637 768 750 751 Hampshire 250 244 213 207 212 241 299 317 306 320 Hertfordshire 78 66 88 104 96 114 148 164 193 163 Humberside 134 150 144 120 107 146 171 219 222 197 Kent 156 246 216 192 191 190 185 149 174 154 Lancashire 247 296 236 213 253 251 280 319 321 308 Leicestershire 130 177 147 164 149 169 191 206 210 206 Lincolnshire 90 100 108 92 118 107 111 134 120 116 Merseyside 346 367 277 227 264 344 343 413 432 460 Metropolitan Police 2,359 2,318 1,842 1,920 2,369 3,126 2,899 2,868 2,954 2,814 Norfolk 101 119 113 81 94 127 118 148 149 148 North Yorkshire 108 122 92 79 90 83 88 113 124 100 Northamptonshire 49 68 69 57 37 52 63 66 59 37 Northumbria 318 359 389 324 389 389 388 405 419 421 Nottinghamshire 144 190 158 156 150 191 245 246 257 263 South Yorkshire 177 175 202 183 203 253 276 286 328 287 Staffordshire3 107 143 122 4— 116 170 166 157 147 194 Suffolk 87 59 82 83 74 92 111 128 130 170 Surrey 52 42 32 55 55 56 71 70 69 72 Sussex 152 147 167 156 166 207 186 188 224 212 Thames Valley 191 189 186 132 169 213 193 233 285 297 Warwickshire 49 55 50 45 41 49 49 69 47 58 West Mercia 104 102 90 78 103 100 125 151 156 209 West Midlands 537 500 462 524 701 751 745 776 710 787 West Yorkshire 267 275 291 229 267 335 331 475 447 402 Wiltshire 48 66 77 70 79 72 72 83 95 107 Dyfed-Powys 69 74 69 64 65 70 84 81 74 53 Gwent 71 84 66 63 60 91 75 108 96 126 North Wales 106 126 113 85 89 115 117 135 147 181 South Wales 223 260 275 235 244 252 271 287 289 294 Total 8,554 9,209 8,265 7,686 8,842 10,488 10,750 11,645 11,970 11,845 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. 4 Nil. Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our reference: PQ 176295 (Table 4).
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Avon and Somerset 6 7 17 7 23 28 19 28 15 30 Bedfordshire 1 5 3 6 6 2 5 7 11 11 Cambridgeshire 3 6 6 2 4 11 8 6 14 10 Cheshire 7 7 13 11 6 14 6 9 24 14 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cleveland 3 5 4 6 8 12 15 12 8 17 Cumbria 10 5 12 8 11 6 9 8 17 11 Derbyshire 8 9 8 5 8 15 17 17 12 14 Devon and Cornwall 9 6 5 14 11 12 22 17 31 18 Dorset 1 4 4 4 3 10 8 6 8 12 Durham 4 6 8 11 10 17 15 19 19 26 Essex 21 24 15 20 26 14 34 45 33 42 Gloucestershire 3 5 3 4 5 5 8 8 6 8 Greater Manchester 21 37 19 46 72 59 54 68 58 88 Hampshire 19 25 18 29 35 27 45 44 33 37 Hertfordshire 7 5 3 3 2 4 15 20 21 19 Humberside 7 6 12 16 15 17 10 14 23 35 Kent 8 12 8 16 14 4 8 1 0 0 Lancashire 12 14 13 17 21 22 24 39 29 35 Leicestershire 10 11 10 9 13 19 13 18 22 23 Lincolnshire 3 9 7 7 4 10 11 7 6 11 Merseyside 28 25 23 26 15 23 33 30 30 40 Metropolitan Police 148 167 178 194 340 309 246 239 298 337 Norfolk 4 3 6 6 9 5 15 9 9 10 North Yorkshire 7 3 6 8 7 11 10 13 11 18 Northamptonshire 2 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 Northumbria 14 23 28 34 44 45 53 57 56 31 Nottinghamshire 7 5 7 13 15 13 17 20 26 31 South Yorkshire 12 12 15 20 22 37 25 18 33 41 Staffordshire3 5 6 5 4 — 6 17 13 11 11 12 Suffolk 4 3 8 7 6 18 15 13 16 18 Surrey 3 5 2 9 11 5 4 10 5 7 Sussex 6 9 9 20 24 15 24 23 27 30 Thames Valley 7 12 5 7 13 13 10 18 23 36 Warwickshire 2 5 4 3 3 5 4 5 5 6 West Mercia 4 8 2 1 2 1 0 3 24 12 West Midlands 28 25 17 41 71 62 48 67 61 71 West Yorkshire 13 5 14 10 17 22 19 44 26 29 Wiltshire 4 11 4 4 4 13 7 10 12 15 Dyfed-Powys 2 4 0 4 3 5 2 3 11 7 Gwent 5 2 6 4 4 2 4 11 10 12 North Wales 4 5 9 10 12 17 9 7 9 10 South Wales 10 11 10 15 22 18 21 15 20 20 England and Wales 482 561 547 680 963 972 939 1,035 1,113 1,265 1 These data are on the principal offence basis 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. 4 Nil Note: Data for “having an article with blade or point on school premises” exclude convictions for West Mercia PFA, until clarification of these cases is obtained. Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our reference: PQ 176295 (Table 1)
Police force area 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Avon and Somerset 44 62 96 80 82 116 133 118 113 138 Bedfordshire 23 31 20 34 26 38 52 61 67 50 Cambridgeshire 21 29 25 13 23 35 26 56 43 57 Cheshire 52 56 39 40 30 40 48 39 58 70 City of London 16 8 4 8 9 17 19 20 18 11 Cleveland 13 26 27 15 34 57 55 69 63 59 Cumbria 22 22 25 19 17 31 36 38 33 30 Derbyshire 31 22 28 35 45 53 65 83 67 63 Devon and Cornwall 38 72 70 56 60 98 107 109 112 102 Dorset 18 37 28 28 29 45 41 53 53 55 Durham 21 24 27 32 25 59 49 49 70 65 Essex 64 73 81 80 73 89 112 156 143 133 Gloucestershire 13 29 15 13 19 21 24 34 33 31 Greater Manchester 181 205 188 176 209 239 250 276 291 305 Hampshire 78 86 75 77 79 86 108 133 129 124 Hertfordshire 24 24 25 24 23 49 68 64 71 65 Humberside 36 39 53 39 31 52 55 92 92 90 Kent 24 61 76 61 62 29 27 12 12 6 Lancashire 93 106 84 70 85 76 112 122 121 109 Leicestershire 44 58 52 45 52 57 78 80 70 90 Lincolnshire 16 31 47 39 37 40 60 58 47 58 Merseyside 148 144 108 98 106 137 132 169 168 178 Metropolitan Police 1,110 1,160 905 970 1,167 1,562 1,441 1,376 1,400 1,354 Norfolk 25 47 40 30 32 54 54 61 60 52 North Yorkshire 30 31 39 25 38 41 40 56 55 39 Northamptonshire 4 7 14 5 3 2 2 3 6 1 Northumbria 79 78 86 87 109 126 130 154 160 186 Nottinghamshire 40 36 38 34 41 55 68 95 91 113 South Yorkshire 41 46 48 46 92 109 122 99 136 109 Staffordshire3 18 33 37 4 — 28 51 50 60 49 80 Suffolk 27 19 18 23 25 43 37 55 53 88 Surrey 16 8 10 16 21 22 33 30 30 30 Sussex 53 57 83 64 76 112 99 91 94 108 Thames Valley 54 67 70 47 64 72 66 99 122 142 Warwickshire 14 25 20 16 15 21 14 22 18 24 West Mercia 17 30 25 21 6 9 18 18 22 31 West Midlands 146 126 120 163 247 281 279 290 258 312 West Yorkshire 33 33 42 47 70 81 89 128 142 143 Wiltshire 17 24 28 24 32 24 33 40 41 55 Dyfed-Powys 14 19 29 23 28 30 34 36 34 22 Gwent 19 16 14 17 16 31 19 37 26 44 North Wales 42 50 51 32 39 57 52 60 68 103 South Wales 59 87 91 68 72 96 90 109 100 133 Total 2,878 3,244 3,001 2,840 3,377 4,343 4,427 4,810 4,839 5,058 1 These data are on the principal offence basis. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. 4 Nil Note: Data for "having an article with blade or point on school premises" exclude convictions for West Mercia PFA, until clarification of these cases is obtained. Source: Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice Our reference: PQ 176295 (Table 2).