The violent crime and murder rate for London in February and March has overtaken New York’s figures for the first time in modern history, statistics show.
New York and London have roughly the same population (8.5m), hence the comparison. Statistics from the Metropolitan police and the New York Police Department reported by the Sunday Times show that London had 15 confirmed murders in February, compared to 11 murders in New York during the same month.
London had 22 murders in March, whereas New York had 21. However, there have been a total of 47 murders in London this year compared to New York’s total of 50. Even so, if the rate of killing continues then London could see a total of 180 homicides by the end of 2018.
There has also been a spike in knife crime in the British capital, with 31 fatal stabbings in London so far this year, equating to a deadly stabbing every three days.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police stated that London “remains one of the safest [cities] in the world” though City Hall is “deeply concerned” by the crime rates. The Met also said, “One murder is one too many, and we are working hard with our partners to understand the increase and what we can all do to prevent these tragedies from happening in the first place.”
London. Overnight Murder update:
17yr old girl shot
16yr old boy gunned down
15yr old boy stabbed. #LondonHasFallen pic.twitter.com/fWm8LBG8gy— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) April 3, 2018
Though New York’s murder rate has been on a steady decline in recent years, it doesn’t negate the crime rise in London. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has received backlash on social media due to the killings in the capital, with some furious tweeters calling for his resignation from office:
London’s murder rate has grown by nearly 40 percent in three years. Keep up the terrible work Sadiq! https://t.co/MQFEnHiewf — Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) April 3, 2018
LONDON FALLING: UK Capital MURDER RATE Soars 40% in Three Years under SADIQ KHAN! #fo2eu https://t.co/Yxs3zaPCA6
— Mike Allen (@AMike4761) April 3, 2018
Sadiq Khan faces calls to resign over London’s spiralling murder rate after another teenager gunned down overnight https://t.co/IWr8PGevks — Bob M 🇬🇧 (@bobmca1) April 3, 2018
Whereas others are blaming job and funding cuts to the police force in recent years.
London murder rate overtakes New York for first time ever after spate of fatal stabbings and shootings
Tories are blaming Sadiq Khan – despite them axing 22,000 police officers and closing hundreds of police stations across the country since 2010
— Socialist Voice 🌹 (@SocialistVoice) April 1, 2018
Home Secretary Amber Rudd is blaming social media for glorifying violence, asking for a crackdown on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram to restrict the way they are allegedly used by gangs, according to the Daily Mail.
Though cause for the rise in the murder rate of London is remains a mystery, by official standards, one thing is for certain: many believe the current reaction from the government is not good enough.
Perhaps law enforcement is spending too much time on Twitter.
Source: dangerous
