London murder rate hits lowest level in 11 years

Newly published figures show London's murder rate has fallen to its lowest level on record, with the teenage murder rate also dropping to its lowest level since 2012.

London's Metropolitan Police service, which is known as the Met, said that in 2025, 97 homicides were recorded in the city that has a population of just under 10 million, the lowest figure since 2014.

This works out at 1.1 homicides per 100,000 residents, compared to 3.2 homicides in Berlin, 2.8 in New York, and 1.6 in Milan.

In recent years, knife crime among young people in London has been a serious problem, but the teenage homicide rate, which peaked at 30 in 2021, fell to just eight in 2025.

There is an overall downward trend in homicide figures across all of England and Wales, with the Office for National Statistics reporting 518 homicides in the year to June 2025, down from 552 in the year before.

Met Commissioner Mark Rowley said targeted action against criminal gangs, the introduction of violence reduction units, and methods including live facial recognition had helped ensure fewer families in London were "shattered" by violence, but that "every murder is a tragedy".

The reduction was, he added, "the product of amazing police work as we attack with ever more precision the most dangerous men who carry weapons, who groom children into gangs, who prey on women".

The statistics give the lie to the image often presented by people on the political right that London is a lawless place.

Sadiq Khan, London's mayor, is currently serving a third term. Khan, who is a Muslim and who has previously been attacked by United States President Donald Trump as "a nasty person" who has "done a terrible job", has been accused by Trump of wanting to introduce Sharia law in the city.

Last week, Laila Cunningham, the far-right Reform UK party's candidate for the next London mayoral election in 2028, said the city was "no longer safe" and that outsiders now pity people who live there and say "London's a bit too dangerous for me".

Khan, while "fully accepting" that levels of crime such as phone theft and shoplifting make some residents feel unsafe, said even his fiercest critics must admit the overall statistics are "remarkable".

"Whether it's President Donald Trump, whether it's politicians concentrated in Europe, this country, or other parts of the world, I can understand why they hate London," the mayor said. "We are diverse, we are progressive, we are liberal, we are successful, but even the harshest critics of London would have to accept these figures are remarkable."

Rowley, the police commissioner, also highlighted the importance of factual evidence rather than opinion when dealing with crime and feelings of security.

"The truth is ever less present and it's more about opinion or mischief," he said, referring to social media content, which often features personal attacks on Khan. "That's why using something as objective as (statistics) is one important way to say, 'OK, London is relatively safe.'"