Lambeth knife crime decreased by 29% last year compared to 2024, a bigger drop then Southwark which saw crimes down by a quarter, writes Tom Appleby…
A study of the Metropolitan Police Service data revealed that there were 283 fewer knife offences last year in Lambeth.
Knife crime peaked in June with 72 offences in the borough, although this was still 17 per cent fewer than the previous year.
The majority of knife crime victims were male (81per cent) compared to female (19 per cent).
It seems that the downward trend is continuing this year, with January 2026 recording 30 per cent fewer knife offences than January 2025.
In Lambeth, the police has increased its street presence to carry out targeted stop and searches. Live Facial Recognition has been used five times in the past year, leading to 68 arrests.
Specialist teams have also targeted seizing weapons from high-harm offenders, while community engagement, CCTV and better lighting have also helped lower crime.
In London as a whole, there were 14,909 knife offences between January 2025 and January 2026.
Newham had the highest rate (921), followed by Westminster (816) and Southwark (731). But these latest figures are extraordinary, with knife crime in Southwark down by around a quarter for the first time in just over a decade, despite being ranked third worst in London.
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The findings come as the government announced a £320 million investment into Youth Justice Services last month.
Police will now refer every child knife possession case to the services who, in turn, will implement a mandated course of targeted intervention for each child, focusing on education and deterrence.
Chief Inspector James Horsefield, head of neighbourhood policing in Brixton, said: “Driving down knife crime is a key priority for the Met in Lambeth, as officers continue work to tackle the issues that most affect communities.
“This has included deploying Live Facial Recognition technology to crime hotspots, increasing resources for town centre teams, conducting weapon sweeps and engaging with young people to build trust.
“Across Lambeth, the total number of all offences has fallen over the last year – but we recognise more still needs to be done, and officers will continue to target violent crime in south London.”
