LONDON (AP) 鈥� London鈥檚 mayor and police chief on Thursday used a drop in recorded street crime to reassure tourists the city is safe and counter an depicting Britain鈥檚 capital as a lawless dystopia.
The city’s Metropolitan Police force said 鈥渘eighborhood crime,鈥� a category that includes phone theft, pickpocketing, residential burglary and vehicle crime, fell 14% in the year to June. In Westminster borough 鈥� home to tourist magnets including Parliament, Soho and Leicester Square 鈥� those crimes fell by more than a third, and they were down by a quarter in neighboring Camden, another tourist hotspot.
Yet said that in the past two years 鈥渨e鈥檝e seen a 200% increase in stories on social media about London being in quote unquote 鈥榙ecline鈥� or London being dangerous.鈥� Those claims have mushroomed on social media and have been echoed by right-leaning politicians, often tied to anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views.
Khan blames an online 鈥渙utrage economy鈥� that monetizes negativity.
A big chunk of that online ire is aimed at London鈥檚 . Khan, who has led London since 2016, has been the target of insults from X owner Elon Musk and U.S. , who has called him a 鈥渟tone-cold loser鈥� and a 鈥渢errible, terrible mayor.鈥�
鈥淲e know there are bot farms making money from negative stories about London,鈥� Khan told The Associated Press. 鈥淲e know that there are state actors in Russia and China and MAGA-backed influencers in the USA who want to do London down. Why? Because we鈥檙e liberal, we鈥檙e progressive, we are multicultural and we鈥檙e incredibly successful.
鈥淚f the social media companies don鈥檛 sort themselves out, I think there鈥檚 got to be regulation,鈥� he said.
Violent crime has been falling in London, as in in Europe and North America. Police recorded 97 homicides in the city in 2025, the fewest since 2014 and a lower rate per population than Paris, Berlin or New York.
That is only part of London鈥檚 crime story, though. Khan said he is concerned by a rise in targeting Muslims and Jews, spurred in part by conflicts in the Middle East.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got to make sure we give these communities the confidence to report these crimes,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also got to be sure we support them to make their places of worship safer, so nobody鈥檚 scared to practice their faith.鈥�
Then there is the everyday crime that degrades urban quality of life. Many Londoners have firsthand experience of phone-snatching or have witnessed a surge in shoplifting and subway fare-dodging.
Police said Thursday鈥檚 figures show they are curbing those offenses through a combination of high visibility patrols in crime hotspots, intelligence-led operations targeting prolific offenders and technology.
Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley highlighted the force鈥檚 鈥渋nnovative and creative鈥� 鈥� though also contentious 鈥� use of .
鈥淭here鈥檚 classic police work, officers on the streets, supported by the best of 21st century technology that鈥檚 making a difference,鈥� he said.
Rowley was in 2022, and has led the force as it tries to regain public confidence that found it mired in sexism, homophobia and institutional racism.
It also faces counter-claims from the right of a 鈥渢wo-tier鈥� policing approach that is biased against white people.
Rowley said that 鈥渢he entire community can have faith in the Met.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e routinely invited to join either side of the culture wars. We鈥檙e politely declining those invites,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e operate under the law without fear or favor. We鈥檙e here to protect every citizen and we do that with equal vigor.鈥�
Julianne Sweeten, a 21-year-old university student from Chesapeake, Virginia studying abroad in London, said the city 鈥渇eels a lot safer than the U.S.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 very little threat of gun violence,鈥� she said, and her worries about phone-snatching have proved unfounded so far.
Artist Vicky Hawkins, 78, has lived in London all her life and thinks crime is 鈥渁bout the same鈥� as it ever was.
鈥淚 know people feel more unsafe, I think, these days. But I don鈥檛,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I know not to push my luck.鈥�
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