Number of homicides in London 2015-2021

There were 119 homicides recorded by the police in London for the period between April 2020 and March 2021, compared with 144 in the previous reporting year. During this provided timer period, the reporting year for 2017/18 had the most homicides in London at 159, with the fewest occuring in 2016/17, when there were 107. In the last five years, the worst quarter for murders was the second quarter of 2017, when there were 51 murders, followed by the first quarter of 2018 when there were 46.

A national problem

With a homicide rate of 14.5 per million people London has the third worst homicide rate in England and Wales, while the North West of England is only slightly higher at 15.5. When looking at the numbers of homicides across the entire country, a similar pattern to London emerges. Between 2011/12 the number of homicides remained at a relatively low level before increasing sharply in 2016/17, reaching a ten-year high of 809 in 2019/20.

Knives the weapon of choice

In 2019/20 there were 275 homicides in England and Wales involving a knife or other sharp instrument (978830). While guns are generally difficult to obtain in the United Kingdom, knives are far more prevalent and have become a major problem for the police, particularly in London. The number of knife crime offences in London rose from 9.7 thousand in 2015/16 to over 15.59 thousand by 2019/20.