Report calls for tougher policing to tackle London's soaring knife crime

Former top officer urges UK capital to bring back controversial stop and search

A suspect is detained by police for alleged possession of a dangerous weapon in Elephant and Castle, south London. Getty Images

Knife crime in London has almost doubled in a decade, led by blackspots in some of its richest streets, as just one in 20 violent robberies is punished.

The surge in knife crime in London has been described as a part of an “epidemic” by a former Metropolitan Police chief, who wants a return to strip and search methods and tougher sentencing from judges.

Former detective chief inspector David Spencer said “proactive policing” had collapsed, owing to a range of political decisions.

In 2024, London recorded nearly 17,000 knife crime offences − an 86.6 per cent increase since 2014/2015. In the same year there were over 35,000 robberies an increase in only three years of 18.2 per cent.

He called for a renewed use of the controversial stop and search method, and a bigger roll out of live facial recognition technology, in a report for the UK think tank Policy Exchange.

“London is in the grip of a knife crime, robbery and theft epidemic,” said Mr Spencer. “A cosy consensus between police chiefs and political leaders has led to a collapse in proactive policing – in particular stop and search rates – allowing the streets to be surrendered to thugs, robbers and thieves.”

Political backlash against stop and search over the past 15 years, was partly to blame for the surge the report said.

Risks of getting caught and adequately punished are minimal

Policy Exchange

David Cameron's Conservative-led coalition government began to roll back on its use in 2010, and it was later criticised by former prime minister Theresa May and current Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Under the leadership of Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan the number of searches has fallen by 56.4% between 2021/22 and 2024/25 − from 311,352 searches to 135,739 searches annually.

Though London had the highest rates of knife crime in the UK, this was not spread evenly across the city, but rather concentrated in a few pockets. The West End, particularly the areas near Oxford Circus, Regent Street and Piccadilly, had the highest rates of reported knife crime.

Other parts of the UK such as Manchester and Yorkshire, had also seen high rates.

Robbery was the predominant reason for knife crime in the UK, accounting for almost two thirds (61.62 per cent), followed by assault which accounts for a third (28.19 per cent).

Yet police were increasingly unable to solve robberies and non-violent thefts. Only 5.1 per cent of robberies, or 1 in 20, and 0.6 per cent of thefts where no violence was used, or 1 in 170, were solved in 2024.

Even when caught, robbers and violent criminals were less likely to be sent to prison than they were 10 years ago, owing to a “dangerously lax” sentencing, said the report.

In 2013, 66.1 per cent of robbers were sentenced to immediate imprisonment, falling to 55.4 per cent in 2024.

“The Metropolitan Police’s apparent ability to solve street level crimes such as robbery and theft person has collapsed to almost negligent levels,” the report said.

Repeat offenders were increasingly walking free from courts. Less than half of the most prolific criminals (44.5 per cent), who have more than 45 previous convictions, were sent to prison after sentencing in 2024, allowing 4,555 of them to walk free.

This sent the message to criminals that the “risks of getting caught and adequately punished are minimal.”

The report also blamed the diversion of police officers to departments that could be managed by civilians, such as human resources and diversity and inclusion. The report calls for some of these departments to be cut entirely, without naming them.

At least 850 police officers currently working desk jobs should be redeployed to tackle knife crime, robbery and theft in those areas, the report said.

Police at the scene of a stabbing in Shaftesbury Avenue, central London. Getty Images

It called for high visibility police patrolling in “hotspot” areas for knife crime, such as London’s West End, and for a “renewal” of stop and search by the police.

Stop and search is widely viewed as unfairly targeting black people and creating distrust in the police among ethnic minorities.

But the report rejects the suggestion that stop and search is being deployed in a “racist” way – and said it was necessarily to promote a “zero tolerance” policy towards knife crime.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the report as a “call to action”.

“Implementation of a “zero-tolerance” approach to crime requires a combination of clear policy, political will and savvy operational policing. It also requires policing and political leaders to put public safety ahead of ideological dogma on issues such as stop and search,” he said.

Labour MP and former Metropolitan Police inspector Jonathan Hinder said the criminal justice system was “utterly broken”.

“We urgently need to properly resource our courts and prisons if we are to restore public faith that justice is being done,” he said.

“In the meantime, the law-abiding public want a strong police force to have the confidence to take on criminals, and it’s time for politicians of all colours to give the police their full backing to do just that.”