The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am truly devastated by the deaths of a 15-year-old boy in Croydon and a 16-year-old boy in Hillingdon. Senseless violence has once again resulted in the loss of two young men with their lives in front of them and my thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families, friends and communities at this awful time.
“I continue to remain in close contact with the Met Police who are doing everything possible to bring those responsible for these killings to justice. Anyone with information should contact the police or Crimestoppers anonymously. There is absolutely no honour in staying silent.
“The safety of Londoners will always be my number one priority. That is why I’m determined to continue leading from the front by being tough on crime - investing record amounts in policing to put more officers on the streets - and tough on its complex causes, with plans in place to deliver positive opportunities to almost 100,000 young Londoners over the course of the next year, helping to divert them away from violence by providing them with tailored support at key moments in their lives.
“Since before the pandemic, the level of knife crime and youth violence in London has been decreasing meaning fewer violent attacks, fewer victims in hospital and fewer young offenders. Sadly, due to the increasing ferocity of the attacks, this hasn’t yet translated to fewer teenage homicides. I refuse to accept that the loss of young lives is inevitable and will continue to be relentless in taking the bold action needed to put an end to violence in our city."
Notes to editors
- Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe. He is supporting the Met by investing record amounts in policing, which has delivered 1,300 more police officers on our streets to suppress violence in local areas, and funding new teams, including those working in our town centre teams. London now has more than 33,000 police officers in London – the highest figure since 2010.
- Reducing violence and making London safer is the Mayor’s number one priority. He has invested more than£1billionin policing – a record sum - over the course of his Mayoralty.
- On Thursday, 29th December 2021 he announced a new comprehensive investment package of almost £50m to tackle crime and the complex causes of crime. This funding will support a wide range of programmes which will enable all of London’s 32 local authorities to tackle violence, reduce offending and support victims locally with dedicated funding for councils to work together to tackle complex problems across Borough boundaries.
- As well as this new investment, over the next 12 months, City Hall and London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) will deliver a combined package of measures that will support almost 100,000 more young Londoners
- The Mayor set up London’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) – the first in England –to lead an approach to tackling violence that is rooted in prevention and early intervention. It is working to deliver programmes that support young Londoners through education, training, employment and investing in positive activities to help them thrive.
- Last year, the VRU commissioned 126 programmes and projects which worked to support and provide positive opportunities for 80,000 young Londoners.
- Since its creation the VRU has received £35.4 million of Mayoral funding, and additional annual allocations totalling £21m from the Home Office. London’s VRU was the first in England, and following its launch, the Home Office has allocated funding to 17 further VRU’s across England.
- Figures show that violence was falling in London before the pandemic, and over the past year knife crime, youth violence and gun crime have come down further: knife crime resulting in injury is down 36 per cent, and under-25 knife crime has reduced 48 per cent, compared to the peak in the twelve months to December 2017.
- The latest ONS crime stats data shows the overall homicide rate is decreasing:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/previousReleases