Published by D. Clark, Aug 27, 2024
The number of knife or sharp instrument offences recorded by the police in London rose to approximately 15,016 in 2023/24, compared with 12,786 in the previous year. This was the highest number of knife crime offences reported in London since 2019/20, when there were 15,928 offences. Between 2015/16 and 2019/20, knife crime in London increased yearly, with a particularly large increase occurring between 2016/16 and 2017/18.
A wider trend
The increase in knife crime witnessed in London has occurred alongside a general increase in overall crime throughout England and Wales. In 2022/23, there were approximately 6.74 million crime offences across England and Wales, compared with just over four million ten years earlier. During a similar time period, the number of knife homicides also increased, and reached 282 in 2021/22, compared with 186 in 2014/15. Due to strict gun laws in the United Kingdom, firearms are rarely used to commit homicides, with knives or other sharp instruments being used in over 41.4 percent of homicides in 2022/23.
Acid and moped attacks
While knife crime in London has certainly been given a lot of attention by the British media, the increase in acid and moped attacks during the same time period also generated many headlines. In 2017, for example, there were 471 acid attacks recorded by the Metropolitan Police, compared with just 51 in 2007. Moped crime also reached high levels in 2017, with both types of crime declining to much lower levels by the early 2020s. Although overall crime in London continued to rise until 2019/20, this fell back during the COVID-19 pandemic, but by 2023/24, the number of crimes committed in the capital had exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
Number of police recorded knife or sharp instrument offences in London from 2015/16 to 2023/24
| Characteristic | Number of offences |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 15,016 |
| 2022/23 | 12,786 |
| 2021/22 | 11,122 |
| 2020/21 | 10,150 |
| 2019/20 | 15,928 |
| 2018/19 | 14,902 |
| 2017/18 | 14,731 |
| 2016/17 | 12,077 |
| 2015/16 | 9,752 |
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