London's Police Chief Declares City Safer Amid Crime Wave Claims

London's Crime Rate and Public Perception

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Britain's most senior police officer said on Monday that London's homicide rate had fallen to its lowest for more than a decade, showing the city was becoming safer, despite remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump and others on violent crime in the capital.

Current Homicide Statistics

Mark Rowley, commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, said the homicide rate in London was at an all-time low on a per capita basis and the city was safer than Los Angeles and New York as well as many other European capitals.

Violent Crime Trends

Rowley said serious violent crime in London was declining, according to police data and information from hospital admissions. 

Public Misconceptions

"Despite claims circulated online, including AI‑generated videos creating fictional violent scenarios, some commentators promote a narrative that suits them, regardless that the facts tell a very different story," he wrote in The Times newspaper. 

Impact of Political Commentary

Trump had suggested in November that there were "no-go" areas for police in London and accused Mayor Sadiq Khan of "letting crime go". The U.S. president has been critical of Khan for years. 

"Look at the crime you have in London," Trump told British broadcaster GB News in November. "Today you have people being stabbed in the ass or worse."

In September, X owner Elon Musk told a large right-wing demonstration in the city via video link that "violence is coming".

Met police figures showed there were 97 homicides in London in 2025, an 11% reduction on 2024, and that violent incidents resulting in injury have fallen by a fifth since 2014.

"In London, the evidence is clear, we’re winning the battle against violent crime," Sadiq Khan wrote in the Guardian newspaper on Monday. 

The figures covered violent crime, but many British people's perception of crime is the opposite given a jump in crimes such as shoplifting, which hit an all-time high last year. 

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Hugh Lawson)