London’s crime rate may be rising – but mayor Sir Sadiq Khan claims the capital is not the worst in the country.
But is he correct? In short: yes - though it also depends which crimes are compared.
Analysis of the latest official crime statistics by The Standard supports the mayor’s assertion – and shows that Greater Manchester has a higher overall crime rate than London.
There are far more crimes reported in London than in Manchester – 957,481 in the year to December 2024 in the capital, compared with 323,954 in Greater Manchester.
And crime is growing in London - there were an extra 24,194 offences in 2024, an increase of 2.6 per cent - but falling in Manchester, down eight per cent or 31,257 offences.
But when the population of each city is factored in, London (8.9m residents) is statistically safer than Manchester (2.9m residents), according to the Office for National Statistics.
The ONS, in its most recent release of crime data last week, said there were 107 crimes per 1,000 population in London and 109.9 per 1,000 people in Greater Manchester.
But Manchester is not the most crime-ridden area of the country.
Cleveland – which includes Hartlepool, Redcar, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough – was the worst, with 124.6 crimes per 1,000 residents.
West Yorkshire, which includes Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield, had a crime rate of 115.
The London figures covered both the Metropolitan police and City of London police areas.
Last week’s statistics revealed that the soaring rate of shoplifting had continued in London, with offences up 58 per cent year on year.
Theft from the person up by 41 per cent – but fell by 28 per cent in Manchester.
But possession of weapons offences fell 20 per cent in London, violence with injury decreased by 15 per cent, and stalking and harassment dropped 10 per cent.
Manchester had proportionately more stalking offences, sexual offences and public order offences than London.
But the capital had higher rates of shoplifting, residential burglary and theft than Manchester.
ONS data from December 2024 |
Greater London |
Greater Manchester |
Population |
8,945,300 |
2,948,600 |
Total recorded crime |
957,481 |
323,954 |
Crime rate per 1,000 residents |
107 |
109.9 |
Homicides |
109 |
26 |
Violence causing injury |
67,928 |
28,115 |
Violence against the person rate |
26.8 |
42.8 |
Stalking/harassment rate |
6.2 |
14.9 |
Sexual offences rate |
2.9 |
4.1 |
Theft rate |
54.1 |
29.9 |
A spokesman for Sir Sadiq, who helps to fund the Met police and is London’s police and crime commissioner, said the figures showed that “Londoners are less likely to be a victim of violence resulting in injury than across the rest of England and Wales”.
The Met police is expected to lose about 1,700 officers and civilian staff due to the need to make budget cuts.
A Greater Manchester police spokeswoman said that crime was falling across its region.
This was backed up by the ONS data – its crime rate of 109.9 crimes per 1,000 residents was down on 122 per 1,000 residents recorded in 2023.
In contrast, London’s total crime rate has risen from 105.3 to 107 over the same period.
The Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said: “Crime is actually falling here because of proactive approach of officers and staff increasing a problem solving approach to fighting crime, and our positive outcome rates are continuing to rise.”
Greater Manchester Police said total crime levels had fallen by 7.2 per cent year on year – meaning 25,000 fewer crimes and 18,735 fewer victims.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority said its homicide rates, knife crime and hospital admissions due to assault by a sharp object were lower than in London.
Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, last month extended the contract of Greater Manchester chief constable Stephen Watson until May 2028.
Both Greater Manchester police and the Met police have come out of special measures.
Mr Burnham said: “Greater Manchester Police has been transformed under Stephen Watson’s leadership.
“Because of his proactive, back-to-basics approach, and his strong commitment to neighbourhood policing, crime is down across the board and more criminals are being brought to justice.”
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) said: “In recent years Greater Manchester Police has made significant progress in recording more crime and public confidence in the force has risen.
“Under the leadership of Chief Constable Stephen Watson, Greater Manchester’s crime rates have fallen. Total crime is down eight per cent in the last year, violence against the person down seven per cent, robbery down four per cent, theft offences down 11 per cent.”
