“You cycle five minutes either side of Kilburn High Road and the area completely changes. We’ve been forgotten.”
“You cycle five minutes either side of Kilburn High Road and the area completely changes. We’ve been forgotten.”
Omri Chetrit has run Folkies Music, a instrument store and repair workshop, since 2008. He’s a respected luthier, entrusted by stars such as Matty Healy, frontman of The 1975, and The Pretenders legend Chrissy Hynde, who come to him from across London.
But these days, the 47-year-old finds himself becoming increasingly interrupted by crime right outside the well-established business. This is a sentiment shared along the high street, with residents complaining of constant phone snatchings, shop raids and stabbings.
“I’ve seen three people robbed with my own eyes in the last few months,” Omri said, pointing at a bus stop opposite his shop, “These guys on scooters or electric motorbikes go on the pavement and then speed off.
“If it’s not that, it’s Tesco staff getting abused and shoplifted from or drug addicts milling around. It’s happening on a daily basis.”
Nestled between the desirable neighbourhoods of Queen’s Park and West Hampstead, Kilburn has long been considered the vibrant outsider. The high road was previously known as the ‘Musical Mile’, owing to the numerous pubs, dance halls and live venues it hosted.
The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Black Sabbath and David Bowie all graced the stage of the former Gaumont State Theatre in the 60s and 70s, cementing Kilburn’s place in music history. For others, the area was County Kilburn, a title bestowed by the mass migration of Irish workers in the post-war era.
Omri added: “There’s just not been a lot of development or support for people, especially since the pandemic. They focused on King’s Cross, Tottenham Court Road, Holborn and well, Kilburn was at the bottom of the list.
“The problem now is that people from other areas don’t want to come down here. I have a friend who lives in West Hampstead and she won’t come to Kilburn. It’s a shame but every time you’re on High Road there’s something going on.”
In April, the Metropolitan Police arrested more than 40 people and seized 74 illegal e-bikes during a week-long operation to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour on the high street. Officers also recovered at least 1,000 suspected stolen mobile phones, two machetes and a nitrous oxide cannisters worth over £3,000.
Inspector Yu Zhang, who led the crackdown, said: ” We know these offences are ones that our communities care about, and they want to see officers taking robust action. We have done exactly that, this week-long operation will disrupt the criminal networks in Kilburn, ensuring the area is undoubtedly safer for the community.”
But for resident Alex Crogle, the temporary action is not enough to stamp out the ongoing pattern of ‘commit and release’. He’s seen multiple people, predominantly shoplifters, taken in to custody only for them to strike again days later.
The 32-year-old said: “It’s a good thing they’ve put more officers down the road but it’s only the start. But then, the problem is not the police.
“They arrested two people in Cash Converters across the street and the day after they were here again. I don’t want to judge anyone but things need to be improved. It’s really not great at the moment.”
The Italian native has lived and worked in the area for two years but says he would move if given the opportunity. He’d ideally move around 20 minutes north as this is enough to be in a ‘completely different world’.
“I don’t know what’s happened in the last 12 months but the amount of crime has gotten crazy. It’s become a well-known area for stabbings but I don’t get it because it wasn’t like that before.”
A man in his 20s was knifed in the back during a daylight altercation on Oxford Road, a predominantly residential street adjacent to Kilburn High Road, three weeks ago. Months earlier, a man in his 30s was stabbed at the junction with Quex Road.
MyLondon has reported on nine stabbings on or immediately next to Kilburn High Road in the last 12 months, including an incident that left a 19-year-old man fighting for his life. MP Tulip Siddiq previously said constituents were “living in fear” amid the crime wave.
Despite this, Alex is staying hopeful good things are coming Kilburn’s way. “The council has been doing a lot of jobs around,” he said, “It seems like they’ve put a lot of money into it.
“They’ve done up the pavement, the park, to renew the area. I don’t know if it will make a difference but we just need to wait and see.”
Camden Council, in partnership with Brent and Westminster, secured more than £8m in funding in 2025 to launch the Better, Safer Kilburn scheme. This aims to provide a “more inviting and accessible experience for everyone” who visits High Road, Councillor Adam Harrison said.
Projects include wider pavements, protected cycle crossings, pocket parks, and upgraded street furniture to improve road safety and restore pride in the area. Hamid Mir, who runs café Sweet and Savoury, concurs to seeing good and bad points of Kilburn since launching the business two years ago.
“The rich side does not come the main road because there are too many drugs, too many robberies,” the 60-year-old sighed, “We see it here every day. But, I’m not concerned about knives as I try to stay inside if people are arguing.
“If you had more families walking around then maybe there would be less crime. It would benefit everyone. But if there’s people smoking, drinking, I’m not going to bring my children here.”
He says that it’s great to have so many shops and restaurants nearby but they are not being utilised as much as they could be. The business owner continued: “I think the traffic could be improved.
“Every day they [road workers] are changing one side of the road, they’re putting in signs, and this causes long queues. People don’t drive down here as much. It’s pushing people to avoid this road so there’s less footfall.”
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