Sadiq Khan demands government action on crime as report links cost of living crisis to rise in violence

Sadiq Khan has demanded a “national strategy to tackle the complex causes of crime”, while highlighting data on the link between the cost of living and a rise in certain offences across London.

In a speech on Thursday morning, the mayor pointed to modelling from the London School of Economics (LSE) showing that a 10% rise in Londoners’ living costs is accompanied by an 8% overall increase in violence, robberies, shoplifting, burglary and theft.

The mayor said government austerity is jeopardising progress made in tackling crime and violence in London, and that there must be a renewed national focus on the causes of crime.

Policing minister Chris Philp hit back in advance of the speech, accusing the mayor of making London “a more dangerous place” and of “wasting” money.

Mr Khan said: “Through our investment and initiatives, homicides, gun crime and the number of young people being injured with knives have all fallen since 2016, despite our population rising by more than a million in that time. And a person is less likely to be a victim of violent crime in London than they are across the country.”

He added: “Austerity has meant the Met’s funding has been cut by a third in real terms since 2010. All told, that’s one billion pounds.

"But while the Government has run away from its obligations, I have strived to meet mine – by more than doubling City Hall investment in policing, directly funding 1,300 additional police officers.”

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The mayor announced £15.6 million in funding for a new Violence and Exploitation Support Service to provide specialist help to young Londoners who are vulnerable, caught up in, or being exploited by, criminal gangs.

Policing minister Mr Philp said: “The Met is the highest funded force in England and Wales, receiving over a third more funding than similar areas like Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, but Sadiq Khan continues to waste that money. Since he took office, London has become a more dangerous place and over 1000 people have been murdered on its streets.

“Our record in Government speaks for itself – more police officers, and less crime, but Labour can’t say what they would do because they have no plan. The mayor should focus on his own city instead of trying to take the rest of the country back to square one.”

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall said: “Sadiq Khan is in no position to lecture anyone on crime, after spending eight years closing police stations and ignoring a horrific crime epidemic in London on his watch.

“Londoners want a mayor who will listen and make our streets safer, and I will deliver that on May 2.”

Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Rob Blackie highlighted that LSE’s research revealed that a 10% rise in the cost of living is correlated with a 27% decrease in reports to the police of antisocial behaviour.

“The mayor has been caught out spinning his own research,” said Mr Blackie. “He has cherry picked this research, entirely ignoring the bits that don’t suit him.

“The research shows that, in some cases, the cost of living crisis appears to cause people to phone the police less. It is a complicated picture, but the mayor wants to find a simple excuse to escape his terrible record on crime.”

Asked about this point after the speech, Mr Khan said: “I’m really proud that London, when it comes to antisocial behaviour, is third from bottom. There are 43 police forces [across England and Wales] – our figures are so good.

“So I’m sorry I didn’t mention it in my speech, it was probably in an earlier draft, but it’s good news.”

He added: “Here’s the important point – the increase in crime is the acquisitive crime, so shoplifting, burglary, theft have all gone up, and robbery of course, and that’s linked with violence. That’s what people are concerned about.

“Antisocial behaviour in London is low. It’s the third-lowest in the country. I’ll be doing another speech about that soon.”

The mayor was referring to national data showing the percentage of people aged 16 and over who experienced or witnessed antisocial behaviour in the local area.

On average across England and Wales, 34.2% said they had witnessed or experienced antisocial behaviour. The figure in Greater London was 26.4%, with lower figures found in Northamptonshire (25.3%), Lincolnshire (24.9%) and Dyfed-Powys in Wales (23.5%).