What does a safe and hospitable environment truly look like to you? Is it one where you don’t have to be constantly alert? Where you can forget your shopping bags in the car without worrying they’ll be gone when you return? Where walking down the street doesn’t feel like a risk assessment? Where you can sit in a café, browse in a shop, or stand at a bus stop without fearing your belongings will vanish the moment you look away? Sadly, London in 2025 no longer feels like that place.
In the first half of 2025, over 455,000 crimes were recorded across London. Violence and theft continue to dominate, with nearly 120,000 violent offences and close to 150,000 theft-related crimes reported. Knife crime alone has surged by nearly 60% in three years, leaving once-crowded areas like Oxford Circus and Regent Street feeling unsafe after dark.
London now records 132 crimes per 1,000 residents, among the highest rates in the UK. Street robberies and personal thefts, especially phone and bag snatches, have spiked to over 100,000 cases this year, five times the national average. But perhaps most troubling is the lack of resolution: in 2024, only 1 in 20 muggings was solved, with phone-snatching clear-up rates falling below 1%.
Despite these numbers, police visibility has dwindled, and prosecutions have slowed. Public spaces that once represented safety, stations, buses, high streets, are increasingly seen as lawless zones where perpetrators act with impunity. Communities are left to rely on CCTV, self-defence apps, and online forums just to feel secure.
Not just statistics! There are human stories behind it all
While statistics highlight the scale of the problem, it is the human stories that truly bring home the heartbreak of unsafe streets. One such tragedy is the killing of 14-year-old Ronan Kanda in Wolverhampton in 2022. Ronan was walking home, headphones in and smiling at his phone, when he was stabbed through the heart with a ninja sword in a devastating case of mistaken identity. The weapon had been purchased online by two 16-year-olds.
His death shocked the nation but it was his mother, Pooja Kanda, who turned grief into action. She launched a campaign urging ministers to ban dangerous weapons like ninja swords and long-bladed knives. Her efforts have now led to the introduction of Ronan’s Law, which brings in stricter rules for online knife sales and tougher penalties for retailers who fail to comply.
The government has pledged to pursue every avenue to protect young people from knife crime, and Ronan’s legacy now forms part of that promise; a powerful reminder that behind every statistic is a family shattered, and a life that should have been protected.
The new reality of London’s streets is also reflected in the headlines we’ve carried in Asian Voice over the past few months. We’ve reported on shoplifting, knife crime, racist attacks, burglaries, break-ins and more, with more readers sharing their own experiences and growing concerns that not enough is being done to keep the streets safe.
In a recent incident, Anirban had just returned from Paris to London on the Eurostar. It was around 9:30pm when he stepped out of St Pancras station and waited on Pancras Road for an Uber.
“I had my laptop bag with me, and possibly set it down while checking for the cab and in that short time, my bag was stolen.” Inside the bag were several important items: his passport, house keys, car keys, office ID, and work laptop.
He immediately called 999. “They said it wasn’t an emergency and transferred me to the non-emergency number, who then sent me a link to report the incident online. The online form took time to fill out. I was still waiting on call, but no one picked up.”
The next day, he acted quickly: deactivated the stolen car key, changed his house locks, and applied for a new passport. “But no one from the police contacted me for the next two days. The British Transport Police(BTP) later called and asked if I’d sorted everything. I had, but that doesn’t mean the theft was resolved.”
When he insisted on a proper investigation, he was told that the incident had taken place outside the station and was therefore under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police. “But until then, they treated it as their case. Only when I pushed for follow-up did they say it wasn’t their area.” The Metropolitan Police later emailed him to say they had taken up the case, but he hasn’t heard anything more since.
Asian Voice reached out to the British Transport Police to get clarity on circumstances that involve cases being transferred to which a spokesperson said, “Where arrests are made by BTP officers for offences that occur outside the rail network, the case is passed to the relevant local force. Likewise, if any arrests are made by local forces for offences that occur on the railway, those cases are passed to BTP.”
Anirban added, “Despite the location being known as a hotspot for thefts, nothing is being done! It’s worrying. Even the Uber driver told me that two or three such incidents happen every day. Yet there is no police presence and no CCTV in that area.”
The theft had further consequences. “I lost work. My contract was about to end, and without the laptop, I couldn’t finish my tasks. That’s a serious professional loss.”
In the end, he said, “I did what I could to secure my home and documents. But it felt like the police just wanted to close the case, and not solve it.”
Mahua, on the other hand, had left her office laptop, charger, and a portable neck fan inside a leather bag in the car as she hadn’t been feeling well the previous day and thought she’d retrieve it later. The next morning at 7 AM, she was shocked to see the boot of her car wide open.
“I rushed outside. The laptop and fan were gone. A few jackets from the boot had also been taken. The car hadn’t been broken into, no windows smashed. The police later told me thieves might have used a device to detect electronics and clone my key.
“I reported the incident over the phone as I needed an incident number for my office. They recorded it, sent me an email saying the case was opened, and then closed it the next day — No evidence. No one came to inspect the car. I kept it untouched, hoping someone would. Help from police? Absolutely no,” she shared.
This wasn’t the first time Mahua felt let down. When asked whether she generally feels safe, she recalls a chilling incident from 2018, when she was living in Staines.
“Our house was broken into while I was at work. I picked my four-year-old son up from nursery on the way back from office and noticed everything scattered once I was home,” she says. “Terrified, I grabbed a knife, handed another to my son, got out of the house and called the police.” But instead of immediate help, she was told she could go inside because the intruder “possibly might not be on the property.”
Despite the police station being just two minutes away, officers only arrived 45 minutes later and only after Mahua repeatedly insisted they come.
“I’ve seen this pattern repeat: no real investigation, no prevention, just case numbers and closure emails. The police do only admin work and there’s no safety, not even in central London. We avoid going out after 6 PM, because we know we’re on our own.”
Accountability but also action
Asian Voice also reached out to the Mayor’s Office and the Metropolitan Police regarding concerns over shortcomings in police support and to understand what steps are being taken to turn things around.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, said, “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe. That’s why Sadiq has doubled his annual investment in the Met police from City Hall. The Mayor will continue to invest record amounts in policing, to build on progress that has been achieved in London, with the number of young people being injured with a knife, homicides, gun crime with lethal barrel discharges and burglary all down since 2016.
“But we know there is more work to do, which is why with City Hall funding, the West End will see a 50 per cent increase in the number of police officers on the beat and an additional 90 police officers working in new or enhanced town centre teams in hotspot areas. These officers will focus on tackling antisocial behaviour, phone robbery and shoplifting.
“Despite years of austerity by the previous government, the Mayor and the Met Police will continue to prioritise what Londoners want, putting high visibility policing at the heart of fighting crime and rebuilding community confidence and trust as we continue to build a safer London for all.”
A Met police spokesperson said, “We understand a burglary or theft can be extremely distressing for victims. Our focus remains on preventing burglaries, targeting repeat offenders and solving as many as we can. In an emergency we encourage victims to call 999.
“Through our targeted approach our officers have reduced the number of residential burglaries across London over the past year by 10%.
“Additionally, each burglary offence is reviewed to establish lines of enquiry and work with scene examiners to identify and arrest offenders.”
London, in 2025, is teetering. Not just under the weight of crime, but under the crushing burden of fear. This is our attempt to dive into the realities behind the headlines, the stories behind the statistics, and ask: what will it take to make London safe again?
