Crime in London
Figures on crime in London are based primarily on two sets of statistics: the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime data. Greater London is generally served by three police forces; the Metropolitan Police which is responsible for policing the vast majority of the capital, the City of London Police which is responsible for The Square Mile of the City of London and the British Transport Police, which polices the national rail network and the London Underground. A fourth police force in London, the Ministry of Defence Police, do not generally become involved with policing the general public. London also has a number of small constabularies for policing parks. Within the Home Office crime statistic publications, Greater London is referred to as the London Region.
Current trends[edit]
The Mayor's Office for Policing & Crime (MOPAC) prepares quarterly performance reports for policing and crime in the Greater London area. Q1 2021[1] showed a reduction in all crime in London with the exception of hate crimes and domestic violence. Total notifiable offences (TNO) had decreased by 17.2% when compared to the same quarter in 2019/20 (-20,465) and had decreased by 8.1% (17,148) compared to Q2 2020. These figures include COVID-19 lockdown periods.
The Office for National Statistics data between June 2016 and March 2020 showed per person crime had increased by 31% in England and by a lower margin of 18% in London since 2016.[2] These statistics count only crime recorded by police,[3] and it is estimated that overall crime continues to decrease.[4]
The increase in crime recorded in London is not uniform across different types of offence. For example, while homicides increased over the period by 23% in London compared to 8% across England, violence against the person in general increased by 2% in London compared to 7% across England.[2] Over the same period, sexual offences recorded by police in London fell by 2% while in England they remained flat; robbery increased by 16% in London, compared to 6% across England. Otherwise, the increase in London over 2019/20 was largely driven by an increase in theft offences, including burglary. Theft[5] is stealing from a person without the use or threat of force, robbery is stealing by using force or the threat of force on someone and burglary is entering a property illegally in order to steal. Theft offences account for 50% of the Metropolitan Police's recorded crimes and increased by 4% last year. Across England, they fell 5%.
Over the longer period, the trend is similar. Since 2016, the number of police recorded theft offences (without force or threat) per person has increased by 23% in London, compared to a rise of 7% in England more widely, accounting for much of the recorded increase in crime in the capital.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently assess the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces. In 2018, they reported the Met recorded 89.5%[6] of reported crime. Increases in recorded crime since are likely to be partly credited to improvements in the recording of reported crime across London, rather than simply an increase in crime experienced by residents and visitors.
A report that London crime had risen five times faster than the rest of the country since Sadiq Khan became Mayor in 2016 was debunked[7] by the independent fact checker Full Fact.[8] The misinformation is credited to Dan Wootton in The Sun on 1 October 2020,[7] who may have misinterpreted an article in the Evening Standard on 17 July 2020[9] claiming the "over-arching figure for the total number of offences recorded by Metropolitan Police in the last financial year rose by five per cent in 2018".
Bicycle thefts[edit]
In 2014, the number of bicycles reported stolen to the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police forces came to 17,809.[85] However, the true number of bicycle thefts may be much larger as many victims do not report it to the police. According to the British Crime Survey and Transport for London, only one in four victims of bicycle thefts actually report the crime.[86]