London sees lowest number of homicides in over a decade

London has recorded its lowest number of homicides in over a decade, new figures from the Metropolitan Police confirm. The capital saw 97 homicides in 2025, an 11 per cent decrease from the 109 reported in 2024, marking the lowest total since 2014 when 95 were registered.

Despite London's expanding population over the past decade, the Met highlighted that last year's homicide rate per capita was the lowest on record, at 1.1 per 100,000 residents. This figure significantly undercuts rates in other global cities, such as New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2), and Paris (1.6) per 100,000, the force noted.

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “London’s record‑low homicide rate is the result of relentless work: arresting 1,000 more offenders each month, using innovative technology such as live facial recognition to solve more crime, 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. Every murder is a tragedy, but we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to drive down serious violence.”

The figures released by the Met come as the latest crime figures for England and Wales also show a fall in the number of homicides to their lowest level since current methods of reporting began in 2003.

Some 518 homicides were recorded by police in the year to June 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics, a drop of 6% from 552 in the previous year and 27% below the pre-pandemic total of 710 in 2019/20.

The Met said its work tackling homicide has been particularly strong in curbing violence among young people, with the fewest number of victims aged under 25 this century, and a 73% decrease in the number of teenage victims since 2021, dropping from 30 to eight in 2025.

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The mayor of London’s violence reduction unit, set up in 2019, is believed to have been part of such efforts, by delivering 550,000 interventions to stop young people being drawn into gangs.

Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: “Many people have been trying to talk London down, but the evidence tells a very different story.

“It’s clear that our sustained focus on being both tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime is working.”

The Met also said public confidence in policing was rising, with 81% of Londoners rating the force as doing a good or fair job locally.

But it follows a vetting review published on Thursday that showed 131 officers and staff at the Met, including two serial rapists, committed crimes or misconduct after they were not properly vetted.

It found that thousands of police officers and staff were not properly checked, amid pressure during a national recruitment drive from July 2019 to March 2023.

The Met said it has taken action to clean up the workforce and tighten vetting standards, and was being open and transparent about some historical practices that do not meet current standards.