London records fewest homicides this year since monthly records began

• The number of murders in the capital in the first nine months (1st January to 30th September) of 2025 is the lowest since monthly records began and represents a fall of almost 60 per cent compared to 2003. 
• The Mayor is clear that one death will always be one too many, but his record funding for the Met, targeted police action and vital prevention work through London’s Violence Reduction Unit, England’s first, continues to yield results, with knife crime and homicides falling.  
• Last year London recorded the lowest number of homicides of under-25s for more than two decades.
• As some politicians and commentators continue to talk London down, the facts continue to show the reality when it comes to reducing crime in the capital.           
• The latest figures also reveal 1,154 fewer knife crime offences in the 12 months to August 2025 - a seven per cent drop - and a reduction in hospital admissions of under-25s for knife assaults in London in the 12 months to June 2025. 

The number of homicides in London in the first nine months of 2025 was lower than any year since monthly homicide records began in 2003¹, according to new analysis from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).  

The new figures show there were 70 homicides in London between 1st January and 30^th September 2025, lower than the same period in every year since 2003 - and a 16 per cent reduction compared to the same period last year.  Last year, London recorded the fewest number of homicides of under-25s for more than two decades. Figures this year show a 50 per cent reduction on last year’s 22-year low and the lowest number of teenage homicides since 2012² .

The latest figures also show there were 1,154 fewer knife crime offences in the 12 months to August 2025 in London - a seven per cent drop³. And a 10 per cent reduction in hospital admissions of under-25s for knife assaults in London in the 12 months to June 2025⁴. 

As some politicians and commentators continue to talk London down, the facts continue to show the reality when it comes to the progress being made on crime in the capital. Violent crime leading to injury has fallen in all 32 London boroughs over the last 12 months⁵.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show Londoners are, on average, less likely to be a victim of a violence with injury offence than across the rest of England and Wales⁶. London’s overall homicide rate is lower than international cities, including Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Madrid⁷. 

Despite these significant improvements, the Mayor is clear that there is a lot more to do. One homicide will always be one too many. That's why Sadiq is stepping up the fight against violence in London through: 

• Prevention and early intervention, led by London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) – the first of its kind in the country - which has already delivered diversionary activities and positive opportunities for more than 450,000 young Londoners. The VRU invests in the delivery of youth work and mentoring, and is providing access to more youth clubs and hubs in areas of the capital where it’s needed most. Its interventions are working to tackle school exclusions, provide activities after-school, and youth workers embedded in police custody suites has led to almost 80 per cent of young people up to 18 not going on to reoffend over the next 12 months.  
• Record police funding from City Hall – more than double the previous Mayor - to turbo-charge targeted and intelligence-led action by the Met Police to go after the worst perpetrators of violence and prolific offenders responsible for a significant proportion of crime in our neighbourhoods.   
• MOPAC’s pioneering work on GPS tagging and interventions with perpetrators already in the criminal justice system. The latest data shows that proven reoffending has reduced by more than 5 percentage points in London since the Mayor came to office and is more than 4 percentage points lower in London than the national average⁸. 

Other crimes are also continuing to fall. Compared to the same time period in 2024/25, in the first quarter of the financial year 2025/26, residential burglary in London fell by 10 per cent, theft from person by 13 per cent and personal robbery by 13 per cent⁹. These reductions follow the Mayor’s record investment to boost visible neighbourhood policing in our high streets and communities. This includes a 50 per cent increase in the number of police officers on the beat in the West End and an additional 90 police officers working in new or enhanced town centre teams in hotspot areas with a fresh focus on tackling shoplifting, antisocial behaviour and phone robbery. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “There are some politicians and commentators who continue to denigrate London and talk our great city down, but the facts are showing a very different picture.  The number of homicides in London in the first nine months of 2025 was lower than in any year since monthly records began 22 years ago. 

"That is thanks to our record investment and intelligence-led enforcement by the Met, vital prevention work led by my Violence Reduction Unit and our pioneering efforts to tackle reoffending.

“We're making good progress, but there's clearly much more to do. That's why there will be no let-up in our city-wide effort to further reduce serious violence and protect more Londoners as we continue building a safer London for everyone.” 

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, from the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “Thanks to the work of our dedicated officers and staff, we’re bearing down on violence and have seen a sustained reduction in homicide.

“We’re targeting those whose reckless actions risk the safety of our city, dismantling organised crime groups and diverting people away from criminality with support and help from partners and our communities.

“These are all positive steps forward in our mission to make London safer, but we won’t stop here. No family should never have to bury a loved one and we’ll continue to do everything we can to keep ensuring fewer people are impacted by the scourge of violence and fewer lives are lost.”

Lib Peck, Director of London’s Violence Reduction Unit, said: “Prevention is at the heart of our approach in London, playing an important role in the progress made with reductions in homicides, violence with injury and hospital admissions for knife assault.

“But we know there’s more to do and that must mean doubling down on what we know works through prevention and investing in young people.

“We will continue working in partnership across London to drive down school exclusions, to invest in youth work, mentoring and access to youth clubs, because we’re committed to keeping young people safe and supported to thrive.”