The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today launched his new London Police and Crime Plan which will focus on revitalising high-visibility policing in our neighbourhoods and high streets to deal with local priorities and make London safer for everyone.
The detailed plan for 2025-2029 sets out Sadiq’s priorities to build on crime reductions already achieved in the capital and is focused on working with Government throughout the four-year period of the plan to strengthen neighbourhood policing in London so that more officers are in the heart of communities to crack down on crime and anti-social behaviour.
Comparing statistics for the financial year before the Mayor’s previous Police and Crime Plan and the 12 months from January-December 2024, violence with injury in the Met Police area fell by 11%, domestic homicide by 28%, non-domestic homicide by 8%, teen homicide by 43%, lethal barrel discharges by 25% and the number of people under 25 admitted to hospital due to assault with a sharp object by 13%.
Latest ONS figures show the rate of violence in London is lower than the rest of England and Wales. Last year there were fewer homicides of people under-25 than any year since 2003 and the number of teenage homicides in London in 2024 was also at its lowest total since 2012.
The plan comes as the Mayor has welcomed the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, announced at the end of last year, to have 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing officers, Police Community Support Officers and special constables in dedicated neighbourhood policing roles nationally to help tackle and prevent crime in high streets and town centres.
As Mayor, Sadiq has gone above and beyond to ensure the capital’s police have the resources to continue tackling crime locally. Directly funding 1,300 extra police officers, backing the Met with a record £1.16bn in City Hall funding in this year’s budget alone.
The Mayor’s new plan has been developed following consultation with more than 4,000 Londoners, the Met Police and other key partners including local authorities, and voluntary groups. The key priorities are: reducing violence and criminal exploitation; building safer, more confident communities; supporting and overseeing reform of the Met Police; and improving the criminal justice system and supporting victims.
The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) will bring partners and agencies together to help address community concerns and bear down effectively on crime and anti-social behaviour. This will include looking at ways to improve best practice in the sharing of data, cross-boundary working and developing critical partnership skills.
Neighbourhood policing remains the bedrock of community confidence and safety in London. Against the backdrop of 14 years of Government austerity and its continued impact on the Met, record investment from City Hall is empowering the Met to deliver its new Met for London plan, which prioritises local high-visibility policing and taking officers out of back-office roles to deliver on the issues that matter most to Londoners including tackling robbery, theft and anti-social behaviour.
The Mayor is clear that one violent crime is one too many and his new plan will build on reductions already achieved to further drive down serious violence in line with the Government’s national mission to halve knife crime in a decade. Sadiq has always been clear that the police alone cannot reduce violence and the plan is focused on enhanced and effective working with partners including the Met Police, Government, Transport for London, London Councils and other agencies.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Nothing is more important to me than keeping Londoners safe and I’m determined to do all I can to tackle violence and crime in our city. My new Police and Crime Plan is about putting communities first and over the next four years we will work with the Government and the Met to improve visible neighbourhood policing and strengthen partnership working to deal with the violence, crime and anti-social behaviour issues that matter to Londoners.
“This plan is about tackling the issues that matter most for our city and it has been created in consultation with thousands of Londoners, partners and local organisations. I want to thank everyone who took the time to give their views – and all of those who continue to work day-in, day-out to make our city safer.
“My new plan will build on crime reductions already achieved in the capital where we have seen fewer young people being injured with knives and the number of teenage homicides in London in 2024 being at its lowest total since 2012. But clearly there is still much more work to do. At City Hall we are fully focused on that, and I will continue to do everything in my power to make London a safer city for all.”
The Mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) will continue to tackle the complex causes of violence through prevention and early intervention, building on 400,000 diversionary activities and opportunities for young Londoners through youth work and access to youth clubs, and interventions to tackle school exclusions.
His VRU will oversee the Government’s Young Futures Prevention Partnerships in London, which aim to provide support for young people at risk of crime.
The plan also highlights the continued commitment of the Mayor and the Met Commissioner to crack down on mobile phone robberies – a key driver of violence in London. Over the next four years, the Met will continue to take tough enforcement action against robbery offenders and City Hall will continue to work in partnership with the Government, leading mobile phone companies, manufacturers and the tech industry to design out the theft of their products.
The Mayor has committed to publishing a refreshed strategy to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), building on the pioneering work done in London over the last eight years to tackle the perpetrators of these crimes, support victims and survivors and educate young men and boys about the dangers posed by misogynistic attitudes and behaviours – backed with £233 million investment from the Mayor.
Sadiq has been clear that police reform is a critical part of his Mayoralty, and he will not be satisfied until Londoners have the police service they deserve – one that is trusted, puts communities first, is representative of London and delivers the highest possible service to every community in our city. Important steps forward have been made, including the Met coming out of HMICFRS special measures earlier this year. The plan sets out how Sadiq will continue to support and oversee the work of the Met to embed reform and deliver more trust, less crime and higher standards.
Victims of crime will remain at the heart of everything City Hall does, and the plan sets out how the Mayor will continue to invest in innovative, high-quality services for victims through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The plan also sets out how London’s Independent Victim’s Commissioner, Claire Waxman OBE, will continue her vital work to champion the rights of victims of crime and press for improvements in the services they receive at every stage of their journey.
Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the Met, said: “Nearly two years ago we launched our New Met for London Plan which set us on the path to strengthening trust, raising standards and reducing crime in the capital. Today’s Police and Crime plan from the Mayor complements this work and will help ensure that we keep putting communities first and delivering on the things that people care about most such as neighbourhood policing, tackling perpetrators of violence against women and girls and reducing knife-crime.
“The wider partnership work set out by the Mayor is vital support to our officers’ tireless efforts to keep our neighbourhoods safe. We remain ambitious about what we can collectively achieve if the upcoming Spending Review gives policing and the wider criminal justice system as a whole the backing that it needs.”
