A major crime survey suggests London is the 15th most dangerous city in Europe for crime amid the epidemic of violence, phone snatching and robbery.
The capital is less safe than rival cities from Athens to Brussels and Milan to Barcelona and 100th worst out of 385 locations around the world, the Numbeo Crime Index claims.
London is also worse than major US cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Dallas as well as other global destinations from Cancun to Cairo and Bali to Bangalore, MailOnline reports.
The city is however only the fifth worst UK location for crime - behind Bradford, Coventry, Birmingham and Manchester.
Data compiled from global survey responses is updated regularly since 2012. It ranks London particularly badly for four categories out of 15.
Crime index by UK city
- Bradford
- Coventry
- Birmingham
- Manchester
- London
- Nottingham
- Liverpool
- Belfast
- Glasgow
- Leeds
Source: Numbeo Crime Index
Last week, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised to broadcaster Selina Scott after she claimed London’s streets are unsafe following her mugging by a gang in the West End.
The 74-year-old was surrounded by a group of thieves near Waterstones on Piccadilly who hit her on the back of the leg and stole her purse.
She said she could not find a police officer to report the crime near West End Central Police Station closed four years ago.
The day after the mugging officers failed to go to her home for a planned appointment because there was no available police car.
Ex-Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley condemned an “epidemic of crime” that was “driving people away” from London.
He recently visited Krakow, Milan, Rome and Naples - known for its Camorra mafia and criminal underworld - and felt far safer.
Crime index by European city
- Bradford, United Kingdom
- Marseille, France
- Coventry, United Kingdom
- Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Naples, Italy
- Grenoble, France
- Montpellier, France
- Liege, Belgium
- Nantes, France
- Paris, France
- Lyon, France
- Manchester, United Kingdom
- Nice, France
- Malmo, Sweden
- London, United Kingdom
- Athens, Greece
- Amadora, Portugal
- Odessa (Odesa), Ukraine
- Brussels, Belgium
- Dublin, Ireland
Source: Numbeo Crime Index
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told MailOnline: “What happened to Selina Scott is horrifying but sadly, the public have come to expect these sorts of cases in Sadiq Khan’s lawless London.
“Criminal gangs are acting with impunity while the Met Police are warning they will have to lose 1,700 officers due to the Labour Government’s inadequate police funding settlement. Labour are presiding over a breakdown of law and order.
“We need a zero tolerance crackdown where every single crime is investigated and prosecuted where a perpetrator can be found. This includes using facial recognition from CCTV cameras to catch suspects.
In response, a Met spokeswoman told the Standard: “Tackling violent crime in all its forms is a key priority and we are determined to crack down on robberies, which can so often have a significant and traumatic impact on victims.
“Across London, both uniform and plain clothes officers proactively patrol robbery hotspots to identify, apprehend and deter potential offenders. We also have dedicated teams that target repeat offenders.
“Incidents of neighbourhood crime, which includes offences such as robbery, theft from a person and shoplifting, have reduced by 18.6 per cent compared to the same period last year. Over the past 15 months, we have also increased our arrests per month by 10 per cent.
“Our focus on tackling these crimes will continue throughout the summer, using ward-level data and intelligence to really make a difference in key areas.”
A spokesman for Sir Sadiq Khan added: “The previous government chronically underfunded the Met, making cuts to policing in London that were in real terms equivalent to more than £1.1billion.
“These drastic cuts resulted in the loss of thousands of officer posts and the closure of dozens of police buildings across the city as the Met tried to make ends meet.
“Since coming to office in 2016, Sadiq has done everything in his power to support our police.
“This year alone he is providing £1.16 billion investment for the Met to protect neighbourhood policing in our communities, secure 935 frontline police officer posts and significantly reduce the level of cuts the Met had been planning. This is double the amount provided by his predecessor as Mayor.
“The Met will publish a new Estates Strategy this summer, setting out its plans for providing the right amount and quality of buildings needed to deliver a new Met for London. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime will scrutinise this carefully.
“However, the Mayor is under no illusions that there could be further difficult decisions to make and will continue to work with the new government to ensure the Met gets the sustainable funding it needs to help us to build a safer London for everyone.”
