Last year the capital recorded fewer murders per 100,000 people than New York, Berlin, Milan and Toronto

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and the boss of the Metropolitan Police have both hailed London’s lowest murder rate on record.

New figures released on Monday (12th) confirmed there were 97 murders in 2025, an 11% reduction on 2024 (109). It represents the lowest total since 2014, with London’s population having risen by more than half-a-million since then.

In the same period, violent incidents resulting in injury fell by a fifth, while firearms discharges are less than half what they were seven years ago.

London’s murder rate now stands at 1.1 per 100,000 people. The Metropolitan Police says this makes it lower than any other UK city and below many comparable global cities, including New York (2.8), Berlin (3.2), Milan (1.6) and Toronto (1.6). Some major US cities such as Chicago and Houston have rates higher than ten murders per 100,000 people.

The Met says the success is thanks to “driving innovation through technologies such as facial recognition, and delivering a targeted crackdown on the most dangerous gangs, organised criminals, and predatory men who prey on women and children”.

In reaction to the news, Khan said: “Many people have been trying to talk London down, but the evidence tells a very different story. Last year London had the lowest murder rate per capita since records began, the fewest murders of those aged under 25 this century, and one of the lowest number of homicides for almost three decades.

“It’s clear that our sustained focus on being both tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime is working. This includes investing in intervention and prevention work led by my violence reduction unit (VRU) – the first in England.

“At the same time, we’re supporting the Met by more than doubling City Hall’s investment in policing to help boost police numbers and relentlessly target the worst offenders and criminal gangs.

“But we are not complacent. One death will always be one too many. That’s why I’ll continue to do all I can to invest in the police and provide positive opportunities for young Londoners so that we can build on this significant progress and continue making London safer for everyone.”

Teenage murders have also fallen to the joint lowest level in almost three decades. In 2025, there were just eight teenage victims, a 73% reduction since 2021, with teenagers accounting for only 8.3% of all murders in London. Last year, London also recorded the fewest number of murders of victims aged under-25 this century.

City Hall has pointed out that the number of murders of young people in London when the VRU was set up in 2019 was three times higher than now, and hospital admissions of young people for knife assault fell by 43% in the same period.

Met Police officers are arresting an extra 1,000 criminals every month and have made over 21,231 disruptions against serious and organised crime groups and individuals, while also taking thousands of guns and knives from London’s streets.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “I am privileged to lead such extraordinary people. Three years ago, I pledged that we would make London safer through more trust and less crime. London’s record low homicide rate is the result of relentless work: arresting 1,000 more offenders each month, using innovative technology such as live facial recognition to solve more crime, and taking precise action against the most dangerous gangs, organised criminals, and predatory men who target women and children.

“The results speak for themselves: fewer lives lost, fewer families shattered. Every murder is a tragedy, but we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to drive down serious violence. This work will not stop, and neither will our determination to keep Londoners safe.”

The Met also says its detectives rank among the best in the world, achieving a 95% solve rate for murders last year.

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