Mayor Sadiq Khan defends policing London as capital's shoplifting and theft epidemic deepens

The latest ONS statistics show that almost 90,000 shoplifting offences were recorded in the capital in 2024, up from roughly 58,000 the previous year.

The figures suggest that the city’s explosion in shoplifting since the pandemic is showing no sign of slowing down, and is in fact only increasing at a greater pace.

In addition, the data demonstrates that the capital is out of step with other regions, as shoplifting offences across the rest of England – excluding London – increased only 15 per cent in the last year.

Sir Sadiq Khan’s office insisted on Thursday that the mayor is “determined to do all he can to tackle crime and its complex causes”, while admitting there is “clearly still more work to do” to tackle shoplifting and other offences.

Sir Sadiq has previously blamed the increase on the fact the city has “a lot of shops” compared with other parts of the country, along with the capital’s particularly high cost of living.

According to the new statistics, theft from the person also increased in London in 2024 by 41 per cent. But in the rest of England – again excluding the capital – theft from the person decreased by 14 per cent. In Greater Manchester, the fall was even greater, at 28 per cent – raising further questions over why the problem is particularly bad in the capital.

The latest data did however include some positive news for London, as possession of weapons offences fell 20 per cent, violence with injury decreased by 15 per cent, and stalking and harassment dropped 10 per cent. Yet despite these improvements, the capital continues to account for almost a third of knife crime across England, with an incident occurring in the city roughly every 30 minutes.

A spokesman for Sir Sadiq said: “Nothing is more important to the mayor than keeping Londoners safe. Sadiq is determined to do all he can to tackle crime and its complex causes and build on progress that has been achieved in London, with the number of young people being injured with a knife, homicides, gun crime with lethal barrel discharges and burglary all down since 2016.

“Today’s ONS figures show that Londoners are less likely to be a victim of violence resulting in injury than across the rest of England and Wales. But there is clearly still more work to do to tackle knife crime, shoplifting and theft which are rising across the country.

“The mayor recently announced a record £1.16bn investment for the Met Police which will save 935 neighbourhood police officer roles and ensure officers are visible in our high streets and working proactively with local communities, business and partners to help build a safer London for all.”