Waz
Administrator
There were 97 homicides in the capital in 2025, down 36 per cent from 153 in 2019 and 11 per cent fewer than the 109 in 2024.
The Met said last year also had the lowest killings since 95 took place 11 years ago in 2014.
The force stated that 2025 saw a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people - safer than comparable global cities such as New York at 2.8, Paris (1.6), Toronto (1.6), Berlin (3.2), Los Angeles (5.6), Chicago (11.7), and Philadelphia (12.3).
In 2025, stop and search helped officers seize at least 3,800 weapons and discover illegal drugs on more than 27,800 occasions.
Historically, higher rates of stop and search have been linked to lower detection rates.
But the 20% increase in use of the tactic over the last year culminated in 36% of searches in July 2026 uncovering evidence of criminal activity.
A statement from Scotland Yard claimed this was as a result of “officers making more precise and considered stops”.
Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, the Met’s stop and search lead, said: “Stop and search remains a vital tool in helping officers remove weapons from our streets, apprehend dangerous offenders and ultimately save lives.
“But it is also a tactic that must be used fairly, professionally and with the confidence of the communities we serve.”
The Met said last year also had the lowest killings since 95 took place 11 years ago in 2014.
The force stated that 2025 saw a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people - safer than comparable global cities such as New York at 2.8, Paris (1.6), Toronto (1.6), Berlin (3.2), Los Angeles (5.6), Chicago (11.7), and Philadelphia (12.3).
In 2025, stop and search helped officers seize at least 3,800 weapons and discover illegal drugs on more than 27,800 occasions.
Historically, higher rates of stop and search have been linked to lower detection rates.
But the 20% increase in use of the tactic over the last year culminated in 36% of searches in July 2026 uncovering evidence of criminal activity.
A statement from Scotland Yard claimed this was as a result of “officers making more precise and considered stops”.
Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, the Met’s stop and search lead, said: “Stop and search remains a vital tool in helping officers remove weapons from our streets, apprehend dangerous offenders and ultimately save lives.
“But it is also a tactic that must be used fairly, professionally and with the confidence of the communities we serve.”
