Broadcaster Kirsty Gallacher said she was “really sad” about “what’s going on on the streets of London” after she was attacked by a masked assailant in the capital last week.
Politicians have also raised the alarm about safety in the city in recent months. But London Mayor Sadiq Khan accused them of “spreading misinformation”, as latest statistics show violent crimes resulting in injury have fallen in every borough over the past year.
What are the murder rates in London?
When “rolling” monthly data began to be recorded in 2003, there were 216 killings in London over the previous 12 months; now that rolling total is 89 – less than half the number in 2003, even as London’s population soared by nearly two million.
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London may be experiencing the lowest number of murders in decades, Fraser Nelson said on his Substack. Comparing today’s figures to archived records pre-dating 2003 suggests London is “likely back to – or below – the murder counts of the 1970s”.
In the 12 months to August 2025, there were nearly 9,000 fewer violent crimes resulting in injury across the capital, a fall of nearly 12% from the previous 12 months, according to latest figures from City Hall.
Knife crime fell by 19% between April and June this year compared with the same period in 2024, but some offences, such as possession of weapons, and rape, went up.
Overall recorded crime in London has increased by 31.5% in the last 10 years, according to the Office for National Statistics.
What about other crimes?
Theft from a person was down 13% over 12 months, from 25,272 to 21,937, and robbery of personal property fell by the same percentage, from 7,106 to 6,209. Meanwhile, residential burglaries were down 10% from 7,974 to 7,144. But over 10 years, theft from the person has risen by 207%, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Who said what?
In September, Donald Trump said Khan was doing a “terrible job”, and that “crime in London is through the roof”, but the mayor said “the evidence was clear” that his policies are working. Violent crime with injury is “down in every single London borough” he said, and that’s “testament to the incredible work of our brave police officers”.
If Khan thinks London is “getting more safe, he needs to get out more”, Reform UK London Assembly Member Alex Wilson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. For the mayor to point to “incremental changes” in “just a few categories is ridiculous”, added Wilson.
During the summer, the mayor, who admitted there’s a “long way to go”, promised a “policing blitz” on London's 20 most blighted town centres for shoplifting, robbery, knife crime and antisocial behaviour, said the BBC.
