The mayor says some crime has gone down in the decade he’s been in power – let’s have a look at the stats
The Mayor of London says the rates of some crimes in the capital have gone down in the 10 years he’s been in office. However, overall crime rates have risen between 2016 to 2026, according to MyLondon’s analysis of the data – so let’s have a look at the stats.
Sadiq Khan told City Hall recently that “crimes like lethal barrel discharge, gun crime, burglary, theft from a vehicle, violence with injury offences are all down” compared to 2016.
Our analysis shows that overall, crime has increased when it’s assessed per 1,000 people.
However, violent crimes are being committed less often in the years since the London Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was set up by Sadiq Khan in 2019, according to the unit’s own analysis. It looks like crime in London has indeed been reducing recently – although that’s not what the majority of the general public think.
According to the Crime Survey of England and Wales, concern about crime on a national level has risen compared to 2016. Lord Khan took office in May of that year. The percentage of people who think crime has gone up “a little” or “a lot” in the past few years has gone from 60 per cent in the year to March 2016 to 80 per cent in the year to March 2026.
There is no data for London specifically, but those surveyed were asked about whether they thought crime had gone up locally in the past few years. In 2016, 31 per cent felt it had, while in the year to March 2026, 52 per cent thought it had.
A closer look at the stats
It’s important to note that there have been multiple changes made to the methods of recording statistics in the past decade, which complicates the idea of putting them side by side. Last year, we found that burglary offences have been re-categorised twice in the time Lord Khan has been mayor, for example.
We have used the same data from the Office of National Statistics, looking at the number of offences per population when Lord Khan came into office in May 2016 (using data for the year to June 2016) up to now. The latest available data is the year to June 2026.
This is what we found:
All crime (excluding fraud): Up 15 points from 86.2 to 101.4 offences per 1,000 population
Violence against the person: Up 6 points from 21.9 to 28
Violence with injury: Down 1 point from 8.6 to 7.2
Sexual offences: Up 1 point from 1.9 to 3.1
Robbery: Up 1 point from 2.5 to 3.6
Theft offences in this period went up overall, a 4 point rise from 41.4 to 46.3. The stats were also broken down by type of theft:
Shoplifting: Up 5 points from 5.3 to 10.4 offences per 1,000 population
Bike theft: Down less than 1 point from 1.9 to 1.6
Theft from a person: Up 4 points from 3.9 to 8.4
Other thefts: Down 1 point from 12.6 to 11.4
What about murder, knife crime and guns?
Data on the number of homicides is only available up to the end of 2025, so it’s not possible to assess the full decade that Lord Khan has been in power yet, but the statistics from last year show that there’s been a decline. The total number of murders in London last year was 97, the second lowest on record after 2014, when there were 95 victims. In the year Lord Khan came into office, 2016, there were 117 murders.
Between April 2015 and March 2016, there were 1,556 firearms offences. In the year to June 2026, there were 1,607 of these offences. This is a rise, but not by much. Knife and sharp instrument offences – knife crime – went up from 9,694 offences in the year ending March 2016 to 13,848 offences in the year to June 2026.
It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that the VRU argues changes in data recording practices by the Metropolitan Police from April 2024 mean that knife crime data cannot be compared with years before that point.
It is yet to be seen whether murders will stay below the 100 mark this year.
Speaking about how crime in 2026 compares to rates in 2016, the Mayor told City Hall on Thursday, November 5: “Keeping London safe is my top priority as mayor. That’s why when I was first elected I promised to be tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime. While one victim is one too many, and I’ll never be complacent about crime, today that strategy is bearing fruit.
“Compared to 2016, crimes like lethal barrel discharge, gun crime, burglary, theft from a vehicle, violence with injury offences are all down. Last year London’s homicide rate was the lowest since records began on a per capita basis. In the last 12 months, as the commissioner alluded to, we’ve also made progress on neighbourhood crime, which has fallen across the capital. Theft from the person is down by nearly a quarter, personal robbery is also down, as is vehicle crime.
“These results reflect my decision to provide a record £1.26 billion in funding for policing from City Hall this year, more than double the amount under the last mayor.”
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has carried out an analysis for Met police-recorded crime for the 12-month period ending September 2026, compared with the 12-month period ending May 2016. They found a reduction in the below offences:
Violence with injury (down 11%), a reduction of 8,365 offences.
Burglary (down 31%), a reduction of 21,634 offences.
Homicide (down 15%), 18 fewer offences.
Total gun crime (down 6%), 101 fewer offences.
Gun Crime lethal barrel discharge (down 59%), 152 fewer offences.
Theft from a vehicle (down 10%), a reduction of 4,913 offences.
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