London's violent crime rate is lower than ever, says Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan says London reached its lowest per capita homicide rate on record last year and credits increased City Hall investment in the Metropolitan Police and prevention programmes for reducing violence.

Sadiq Khan says London reached its lowest per capita homicide rate in its recorded history last year and pushed back against descriptions of the city as a lawless "warzone". He attributes the decline to a two‑pronged approach combining increased enforcement funding for the Metropolitan Police with prevention programmes aimed at young people. Khan highlighted more officers, new technology, and the work of London's Violence Reduction Unit alongside community partners. He also responded to recent comments from Donald Trump and Nigel Farage that portrayed the capital as more dangerous than official data shows. Key facts: - London reached its lowest per capita homicide rate on record last year. - City Hall has more than doubled investment in the Metropolitan Police and funded extra officers and technology. - Police arrests in the capital have risen by about 1,000 extra arrests per month. - Officers removed approximately 3,750 guns and knives and say they disrupted serious and organised crime groups more than 21,000 times. - Almost 1,500 county lines operations have been closed and the Violence Reduction Unit has delivered over 550,000 targeted interventions. - The homicide rate for under‑25s is reported as three times lower than in 2019, and hospital admissions for young people for knife assault have fallen by 43%. Summary: Khan says the combined strategy of enforcement and prevention has coincided with falls in homicide and youth violence, which he presents as evidence London is becoming safer. He notes that even one homicide is too many and that further work is required. Undetermined at this time.