Safety when you're out and about

The London Metropolitan Police, Transport Police, City of London Police and Transport for London all work together to make London’s streets safer. London's increased police presence is down to the Priority Policing programme sponsored by the Mayor. There are also new strategies to make drivers more safety conscious.

As well as keeping up to date with new policing and road strategies to make London less dangerous, you can help yourself stay safe on the streets by following a few easy tips.

Streetwise tips and tricks

There has been a decrease in muggings in London over the last year and there is a greater police presence on the streets due to the reorganisation of London's police. If you want to know how safe your area is, view the latest crime figures by borough here.

There are things you can do to avoid unpleasant incidents on the street. Here are six safety guidelines issued by the metropolitan police:

Think ahead and plan your journey, avoiding deserted areas.
Try to avoid walking alone at night, and keep to well-lit main roads where possible. You should try to avoid short cuts like alleyways, waste ground and wooded, bushy areas.
Stay alert: be aware of what’s going on around you.
It is always worth letting someone know where you are going, the route you intend to take and when you expect to return.
Consider investing in a mobile phone, if you don’t already have one. There are various services available for light users.
Try to avoid wearing headphones, your ability to hear traffic, strangers or potential trouble is severely restricted.

Road safety

Do you stop, look and listen? About 6,000 people are killed or seriously injured every year across London due to accidents on the road. The amount of serious road accidents in the capital has been steadily decreasing since the 1980s, but much work is still being done to reduce this alarming death toll. Transport for London has implemented a road safety plan to increase awareness of road safety while the London Safety Camera Partnership has been established to deter drivers from jumping red lights and speeding.

Road safety for a pedestrian is common sense, but it’s incredible how easy it is to forget the rules. Here’s a quick reminder:

find a safe place to cross
look both ways and listen
wait until the traffic has stopped before you cross
avoid crossing the road between cars that are parked
only get on or off a bus at a bus stop.

For more advice on road safety for all road users, take a quick look at The Highway Code.

Travel safety

See the travel safety information in our Transport and travel section.

First aid training

While you should always call the emergency services if you are anyone else is seriously injured or ill, a good grounding in first aid will help you handle the situation while you wait for the experts to arrive.

The British Red Cross provides first aid courses across Greater London. These range from two hour courses which give you basic practical tips for dealing with emergencies, to 14-week courses which go into more detail and provide more hands on practice.

If you don’t have time to attend a course, St John’s Ambulance has some excellent basic first aid advice. They also offer face-to-face training in first aid - search for first aid courses in your area.

Policing & safety

Who does what

Emergency services

What to do in an emergency

Freedom of information

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