One type of street crime has doubled in London since 2019
Key Points
- Theft from the person in London has more than doubled since 2019.
- Shoplifting in the capital has also more than doubled over the same period.
- Total crime in London fell by 1.4% and murders fell by around 15%.
- The public guessed 30% of Londoners were crime victims, against an actual 12.2%.
- London had the lowest violent crime rate in England and Wales.
Theft from the person has more than doubled in London since 2019, according to the Policy Institute at King’s College London.
The Policy Institute’s new study, titled London has fallen?, found that shoplifting has also more than doubled across the capital over the same period.
Both increases came while total crime in London fell slightly, dropping by 1.4% between 2019 and 2025.
The number of murders in the capital fell by around 15% over the same six years. Sexual offences and violence against the person both rose in London during this period, the Policy Institute said.
London still recorded the lowest violent crime rate of any region in England and Wales in the year to September 2025. It also had the joint-lowest rate of sexual offences across the two nations.
Public overestimates the risk to Londoners
The study found that most of the public correctly spotted the rise in street theft, with 71% of respondents guessing that theft from the person had increased.
Most respondents (79%) also correctly guessed that shoplifting had gone up in the capital.
However, a majority (62%) wrongly believed that total crime in London had risen since 2019.
The public’s median guess was that 30% of Londoners experienced a crime between October 2024 and September 2025. The actual figure was 12.2%, less than half of that estimate.
Londoners themselves put the figure at 25%, still double the true rate.
The 12.2% figure excludes fraud, cyber crime and murder, in line with the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Respondents also guessed that 60% of Londoners feel unsafe walking alone in their area after dark. The actual share of Londoners who report feeling unsafe is 37%.
Seven in ten respondents (70%) agreed that it is unwise to wear a luxury watch in London.
Owners reported around 2,000 luxury watches stolen in 2023, which the Policy Institute said suggests such thefts are relatively rare compared with the level of public concern.
“This study shows people don’t just have varying opinions about the capital; they’re working from different facts about it – with many being far too negative about the realities in London,” said Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London.
YouGov surveyed 2,164 UK adults for the study between 23 and 27 March 2026.
