London crime plummets as Sadiq Khan cracks down on theft

New data from the Metropolitan Police shows that neighbourhood crime in London continues to fall after a concerted crackdown by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Figures released today show neighbourhood offences fell by 12% year-on-year in June 2026, including a 23% drop in the number of thefts from person and an 11% fall in personal robberies.

The Mayor attributed this drop in neighbourhood crime to a sustained focus on local policing, with high-visibility patrols targeting repeat offenders and deterring those who cause the most harm.

As an example of this renewed local focus on policing, the number of officers in the West End has doubled, and mobile phone thefts have halved in the area.

Westminster saw the largest reduction in neighbourhood crime with 36% fewer offences, followed by Waltham Forest and Camden.

The Met is improving its effectiveness across the capital through the use of technology such as live facial recognition cameras, which it is now aiming to roll out on lampposts and other infrastructure in crime hotspots.

Police have also set up the West End Command Cell to target phone thieves and other criminals, working with partner agencies to identify suspects and prevent robberies and thefts.

Massive success in stopping phone snatching

The latest figures from the Met follow the success of the city’s crackdown on smartphone snatchers, which saw phone theft halved in some areas of the capital in recent months.

This is thanks to a concerted operation by the Met Police to disrupt the entire supply chain of stolen smartphones. In early June, an operation saw many offenders arrested across the city in connection with smartphone theft offences.

The Met have also seized thousands of illegally modified e-bikes used by snatchers, and they have begun equipping officers with Sur-Ron bikes and drones to track down thieves and catch them when they try to escape.

In addition, companies such as Google and Apple are working with the Met to make it easier to recover stolen phones and to discourage theft altogether.

“In the West End alone, we have seen phone thefts halved and 14,000 fewer neighbourhood crimes, following a doubling of officers on patrol in the heart of the capital,” Khan said.

“With more than five million extra visitors coming to London during the peak tourism season and the start of the school summer holidays, the Met Police are building on this work with extra officers in hotspot areas, tackling issues that matter to local communities including anti-social behaviour, robbery and mobile phone theft.”

“We know many people online and across the world have been trying to talk London down, but the evidence is clear – London is one of safest global cities in the world, crime is falling and we’ll continue working together to build a safer London for everyone,” he said.

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