Six in ten women in London say the capital is becoming less safe, according to a new poll.
The JL Partners survey for the London School of Economics found that a majority of Londoners, once men are included, believes that safety is declining in the city.
The findings are a blow to London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan amid the heated debate over law and order in the capital after a string of recent stabbings and shootings.
The poll asked adult Londoners two headline question on safety: Has living in London become more or less safe generally and has living in London become more or less safe for you personally?
On the first, 61% of women said the capital had become less safe generally, as did 46% of men, giving a finding for all adults of 54%.
Just 17% of Londoners said the capital was safer, including 22% of men and 13% of women.
On the second question, 53% of women said London had become less safe for them personally, so did 40% of men, a combined figure of 47%.
Only 16% of adults said the city is now more safe for them personally, with the gender breakdown being 11% for women and 22% for men.
Even among Londoners who feel safer personally, a third named crime and safety as a top issue of concern.
Ministers, City Hall and the Metropolitan Police have been under intense pressure to do more on safety for women after the horrific murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer in south London.
The killing in March 2021 by PC Wayne Couzens shocked the nation and the then Home Secretary Priti Patel vowed sweeping action to protect women.
But despite new measures, including Scotland Yard taking disciplinary action to root out scores of failing and corrupt officers, concerns about safety remain high among Londoners of all ages.
Forty-eight per cent of young Londoners, aged 18 to 24, said London had become less safe for them personally, the second highest figure behind the 45 to 54-year-old age group, on 53%.
One in five young Londoners, though, also believe the city is safer, the second highest finding behind those aged 25-34 at 28%.
Nearly half (49%) of people living in Outer London said the capital was less safe for them personally, compared to 43% for Inner London.
Almost one in five (19%) of Inner Londoners believe the city is becoming safer for them personally, while it is 14% for Outer London.
Asked to pick up to two issue for their local council to focus on, 39% named crime and anti-social behaviour, 38% housing affordability, then wasting less public money 25%.
Jenevieve Treadwell, a London politics fellow at the LSE, stressed: “People aren’t just worried about their own personal safety, they are worried about the state of the city.
“Even one in seven Londoners that believe the city is becoming safer for them personally, also say that the city is becoming less safe in general.
“These findings show that responding to crime is of the utmost importance to Londoners and needs to be taken seriously by London’s newly-formed councils.”
Sir Sadiq has clashed repeatedly with Donald Trump who has launched a series of barbed and personal attacks on him including over crime in London.
The Mayor has hit back, slamming politicians who try to paint a “dystopian” picture of London as a “fallen city”.
But Tom Lubbock, co-founder of JL Partners, said: "When a majority of women in London feel the city is getting less safe then that is a blow for Sadiq Khan.
“No amount of crime stats can outdo that lived experience and the effects that it has on how people feel and live their lives."
The survey also found that more people, 57%, on incomes below £30,000 believe London has become generally less safe, compared to 56% who earn between £30,000 and £60,000, and 48% with salaries above £60,000.
Just one in ten people in the lower pay group think the capital has become safer, compared to 18% for the middle income group and 25% for the higher earners.
Around half of white and Asian people in London say they feel less safe personally, compared to a third of black individuals.
One in three black people also say the capital has become safer for them personally, far more than the 14% for the white British group and 17% for Asian Londoners.
The poll was carried out ahead of the May local elections during which Nigel Farage’s Reform UK sought to make law and order a central issue.
Asked to pick three issues which could sway their vote, 43% of Londoners mentioned prices and bills, 40% crime and safety, then 32% housing.
* JL Partners interviewed 2,022 adults online in London between March 17 and 27. Data are weighted.
