Shoppers walk along London’s most famous shopping Street, Oxford Street, ahead of Christmas in London, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
London’s per capita homicide rate is at its lowest since records began, according to data released by the city’s Metropolitan Police on Monday (January 12, 2026).
The data are a strong rebuttal to global perceptions of London having become an unsafe city.
“The best way to deal with the perception of crime is to deal with crime,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the foreign press during a Monday briefing call.
There were 97 homicides in 2025, down 11% from 2024, as per the new data. This was a new low since 2014, and an all-time low number per capita, with London’s population having increased by more than half a million since 2014.
Safety of women, girls prioritised
The mayor said he was prioritising the safety of women and girls and also taking action against theft – an issue that has impacted tourists and business visitors to London. Luxury watches and mobile phone have been frequent targets for thieves. In November, two men were imprisoned for robbing a visitor to Oxford of a watch worth 130,000 pounds.
In February 2024, as India and the U.K. were discussing a trade deal, then shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy had heard that some Indian businessmen were feeling unsafe in prime areas of London, during a meeting with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), as per a report in the Financial Times.
Doubled policing in West End
“The other area that concerns me is the perception around what’s called ‘high volume crime’; the theft of mobile phones, the theft of luxury watches,” Mr. Khan said on Wednesday.
The city government was investing in visible and covert policing in areas impacted by crime, Mr. Khan said.
“We’ve doubled the size of the policing team in the West End,” the mayor said, referring to London’s theatre district, popular with tourists.
Mr. Khan cited a 15% reduction in personal robbery, a 25% reduction in personal theft over the last period.
On Trump’s comments
Perceptions of London being unsafe have also presumably been impacted by comments from U.S. President Donald Trump. Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Mr. Khan and London’s safety, including during his 2025 address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Asked to respond to Mr. Trump’s views on him and London, Mr. Khan said London was very successful as a tourist investment, educational and cultural hub.
“But the evidence also is that we are liberal, we are progressive, we are diverse and we are incredibly successful. So we’re the antithesis of nativist politicians like President Trump, and that’s why I suspect he has a problem with London,” he said.
Published – January 13, 2026 12:33 am IST
