London's murder rate has reached the lowest level since records began almost three decades ago, and is below many comparable international cities, figures released by the city’s authorities show.
There were 97 murders in 2025, an 11 per cent decrease compared with 2024 and the lowest total since 2014. The Met said this was the “lowest since records began”, when the current recording system began in 1997.
The UK capital’s homicide rate now stands at 1.1 per 100,000 people, a rate lower than any other British city and below many comparable global cities.
These include New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2), Milan (1.6) and Toronto (1.6). It is also significantly lower than rates seen in major US cities such as Los Angeles (5.6), Houston (10.5), Chicago (11.7) and Philadelphia (12.3).
The release of the data comes after Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley recently said London needed to “fight back” against claims by US President Donald Trump that the city is unsafe.
The UK capital’s reputation as a safe city for international visitors has been dented by soaring levels of street crime, including mobile phone thefts, and stories of “Rolex ripper” gangs snatching luxury watches from their wealthy victims’ wrists.
The city’s image has even attracted the attention of Mr Trump who in November reignited his feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan who he described as “a disaster” who was “letting crime go”.
But while street crime appears to be difficult to curb, despite the Met's attempts, the force has been making steady progress in tackling homicide and other offences, such as knife crime.
Commissioner Mark Rowley said the “record‑low homicide rate is the result of relentless work” and “taking precise action against the most dangerous gangs, organised criminals, and predatory men who target women and children”.
“The results speak for themselves – fewer lives lost, fewer families shattered,” he added.
“Every murder is a tragedy, but we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to drive down serious violence. This work will not stop, and neither will our determination to keep Londoners safe.”
The Met has said its action has included arresting an extra 1,000 criminals every month while also taking thousands of guns and knives off London’s streets.
“Many people have been trying to talk London down, but the evidence tells a very different story,” Mr Khan said.
The Mayor has attributed the reduction in homicides to work led by the London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), the first in England.
The VRU works in schools to tackle school exclusions and absenteeism. It also funds after‑school diversionary activities for young people. The programme even places youth workers in police custody and accident and emergency departments of hospitals to work with those caught up in crime.
Lib Peck, director of London’s VRU, acknowledged the city still has an image problem.
“A lot has been painted about safety in London, but the fact is homicide levels are at record lows and violence continues to fall,” she said.
“There is clearly more to do to close the gap and challenge online narratives so that people also feel safe, but the data last year shows we are making consistent progress.”
Among those who voiced fears about London crime was Indian businessman Devin Narang who told The National a lot of senior executives of companies from his country had been “mugged right in the heart of Mayfair”, an upmarket district of the city.
Vikram Doraiswami, India's High Commissioner to the UK, echoed those fears in an interview with the Guido Fawkes website, in which he said about London “even my phones have been have been nicked here”.
Speaking last month, Mr Rowley responded to the US president’s accusations that crime levels were “crazy” and that police did not want to patrol some parts of the UK capital.
He said “comments that come from America about London” which “are complete nonsense” but admitted “we need … to fight back about it”.
