Claims that London has become “lawless” sit uneasily with the latest crime figures. In Southwark, knife crime is at its lowest level since lockdown. Injuries are falling too, with just one in five incidents resulting in physical harm. Taken at face value, the statistics suggest that something in the Mayor’s approach – alongside the work of the Met and the Violence Reduction Unit – is working.
But headline numbers do not tell the full story. While serious injuries are declining, knife-point robbery is rising, with 64 per cent of all offences categorised as such in 2025. This changes who is at risk.
The average Londoner may be reassured by falling levels of gang-related violence, but that reassurance offers little comfort when the threat of crime can appear at any moment.
Robbery is a crime that feels immediate and it does not require involvement in gangs or criminal networks; it simply requires being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For many residents, this is the form of knife crime they are most likely to encounter and the one most likely to shape how safe they feel in their own neighbourhood.
Progress has been made, but knife crime may be changing rather than simply disappearing. Public opinion will now depend on how the Mayor and the Met react to that shift.
