Despite violent crime statistics across London consistently falling over the past decade, more Britons think it is an unsafe place to live.
Knife crime for those under 25 fell by a quarter in the 12 months leading to June 2025, compared with that of the 12 months to May 2016, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics.
Violence with injury was down by 13% in that time frame, with homicide down by 17%, burglary down by 27%, and lethal gun crime down by 43%.
In the 12 months to March 2025, there were 26.4 recorded violence against the person offences per 1,000 population in the met area, which is below the national average of 31.9 per 1,000 population.
Despite the downward trends of violent crime statistics for the capital, according to a 2026 YouGov poll 61% of Britons think London is an unsafe place to live, up from 53% of Britons polled in 2014.
However, only a third of Londoners think it is an unsafe place to live, with four in five saying they think that the particular area they live in is a safe place to live.
Neil, a speech and language therapist who has lived in Bethnal Green for over 30 years, said: “Crime isn’t something I see a lot of. I think it’s probably improved over the years.
“The way certain crimes are reported in the media can create biases.
“In the past when crimes were reported, the ethnicity or background of the person wasn’t reported on, whereas now it seems to be focused on more which encourages biases.
“”I think it’s a fear of the unknown. A lot of the people with these views live in areas where there are fewer immigrants and people from different backgrounds, whereas people who actually live in east London don’t tend to hold those views.”
Gabriel is a bar manager who lived for a decade in Camden, which has the second highest crime rate per 1,000 population of any London borough.
He said: “Just recently I had a bit of trouble outside the pub, there were two people who were drunk and shouting outside so I came out to see what was happening and this woman kicked me.
“Unfortunately, there was also a stabbing which happened up the road recently.
“They have wardens which operate in the area and you can message these groups if there’s trouble and they send police straight out to that place.
“I lived in Camden for ten years and I would encourage people to come here and not to be afraid. If you’re sensible and you don’t attract trouble you will be fine.
“I haven’t noticed many changes in crime, apart from phone theft. Years ago, it used to be very common to have your phone snatched but I think there is less now.”
Chris, a 22-year-old student from Australia who has lived in London for two years, said: “I haven’t personally experienced any crime, but I do feel less safe walking around London than I did back home.
“I don’t know why, I just feel more on edge when I’m walking around here – like something could happen.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe.
“Sadiq Khan is committed to building on the significant crime reductions achieved across the capital where homicides are at record lows, you are less likely to be a victim of violence in London than the rest of the UK and recent ONS stats show significant falls in robbery and theft in the capital.
“This is down to the hard work of the police who have been backed by record £1.26billion funding from the Mayor alongside the prevention and intervention work led by London’s Violence Reduction Unit – the first in England.
“But there is still more work to do. Sadiq will continue to work with the police and partners to make sure Londoners are safe and feel safe and do more to bear down on shoplifting, knife crime, mobile phone crime and violence against women and girls to build a safer London for all.”
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