In a statement, the Public Security Police reports that, between 2013 and 2026, it destroyed more than 325,345 weapons of various models and calibers, seized in operations or handed over by civilians and destroyed by that police force, a number that has fluctuated over the years, but which has shown a decrease since 2023, and more markedly in the last two years.

The weapons now destroyed – long firearms (commonly known as rifles), short firearms (pistols and revolvers) and bladed weapons – reflect, according to the institution, “the operational action of the PSP at the level of criminal and administrative activity”.

The PSP also states that the voluntary surrender of weapons to police stations since 2019 totals 97,097, also experiencing variations, but a marked decrease since 2021: In 2019, 21,440 were voluntarily surrendered, a number that increased the following year to 23,251, decreased in 2021 to 17,230, a trend that continued in subsequent years, with 10,865 in 2022, 9,340 in 2023, 7,665 in 2024 and 7,306 in 2025.

The note sent to Lusa explains that “once the uselessness of the surrendered weapons for operational, training, technical, museum or other activities of the security forces is confirmed, the national director of the PSP ordered their appropriate and preventive destruction”.

Since 2018, the PSP states that it has promoted the reuse of 1,926 weapons, in various legally permitted ways, including 551 weapons used for training and operational activity – including firearms (pistols and

shotguns) and extendable batons, 920 weapons for the PSP's specimen collection – essential for laboratory analysis and ballistic expertise, and 769 for the museum collection.

According to the PSP, the World Day of Non-Violence and Culture of Peace is "an opportunity to reaffirm the collective commitment to rejecting violence and promoting dialogue, respect, and human dignity."

"It is in this sense that the promotion of weapons destruction takes on a strong symbolic and concrete value, representing the conscious choice to transform instruments of aggression into the construction of firm actions, based on cooperation, conflict prevention and the valuing of life, contributing to safer communities and a future based on peaceful coexistence," the police force emphasises.