Number of homicides in London falls to lowest level since 2014
There were 97 homicides in the capital in 2025, down 11 per cent from 109 in 2024
The number of homicides recorded in London has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade, new figures show.
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There were 97 homicides in the capital in 2025, down 11 per cent from 109 in 2024, according to data released by the Metropolitan Police.
This is also the lowest number recorded since 95 homicides 11 years ago, in 2014.
According to the Met, despite London’s growing population in the last decade, last year had the lowest homicide rate per capita on record – 1.1 per 100,000.
This is lower than other major cities worldwide, such as New York at 2.8, Berlin at 3.2 and Paris at 1.6 per 100,000, the force said.
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Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “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.”
The figures released by the Met come as the latest crime figures for England and Wales also show a fall in the number of homicides to their lowest level since current methods of reporting began in 2003.
Some 518 homicides were recorded by police in the year to June 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics, a drop of 6 per cent from 552 in the previous year and 27 per cent below the pre-pandemic total of 710 in 2019/20.
The Met said its work tackling homicide has been particularly strong in curbing violence among young people, with the fewest number of victims aged under 25 this century, and a 73 per cent decrease in the number of teenage victims since 2021, dropping from 30 to eight in 2025.
The mayor of London’s violence reduction unit, set up in 2019, is believed to have been part of such efforts, by delivering 550,000 interventions to stop young people being drawn into gangs.
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: “Many people have been trying to talk London down, but the evidence tells a very different story.
“It’s clear that our sustained focus on being both tough on crime and tough on the complex causes of crime is working.”
The Met also said public confidence in policing was rising, with 81 per cent of Londoners rating the force as doing a good or fair job locally.
But it follows a vetting review published on Thursday that showed 131 officers and staff at the Met, including two serial rapists, committed crimes or misconduct after they were not properly vetted.
It found that thousands of police officers and staff were not properly checked, amid pressure during a national recruitment drive from July 2019 to March 2023.
The Met said it has taken action to clean up the workforce and tighten vetting standards, and was being open and transparent about some historical practices that do not meet current standards.