London murder rate up 14% over the past year

  • London
The number of crimes against Londoners and visitors has increased Credit: Press Association

The rate of crime against Londoners has jumped substantially over the past year, according to figures quietly released by the Met Police on Friday evening.

The murder rate is up by more than 14%, whilst the number of sexual offences has jumped as well.

  • 113 murders occurred in the capital in the 12 months to September 2015

  • 99 murders occurred in the capital in the 12 months to September 2014

  • This represents a 14% rise

The Met denied that the figures reflected the scale of the cuts to frontline officers, and insisted the jump from last year did not mean that officers were failing in their duty to keep London safe.

Crime is up across the board, according to the Met's own figures - available but not released in Friday's briefing.

If we look at figures from the twelve months between 2014 and 2015, the jump is even more startling.

Homicide

Homicide includes offences of murder, manslaughter, corporate manslaughter and infanticide.

  • The number of homicides recorded in the 12 months to December 2015 was 118

  • The number of homicides recorded in the 12 months to December 2014 was 94

  • This increase represents a jump of 25.5%

Rape

  • The number of rapes over the twelve months to December 2015 was 10,380

  • The number of rapes over the 12 months to December 14 was 9,029

  • This increase represents a jump of 15%

Violence against the person

Violence against the person offences include murder, harassment, common assault, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapon and other violence.

  • The total number of violent offences in the 12 months to December 2015 was 220,288

  • The total number of violent offences in the 12 months to December 2014 was 187,336

  • This represents a rise of 17.6%