New Crime Figures For London Are Out

18 January 2011, 15:13 | Updated: 18 January 2011, 15:16

The Metropolitan Police say newly released figures show that crime in London is continuing to fall.

Murders last year were at the lowest rate since 1978 and gun crime has fallen by more than 10% since 2009 - with 352 fewer offences last year than the one before.

House burglaries have dropped nearly 20% in the last 10 years with 13,162 fewer offences compared to a decade ago.

But police have admitted there are still areas in need of improvement. Vehicle thefts, knife crime, robberies and rapes are all up - with almost 650 more rapes in 2010 that in 2009.

Following the revelation, the police claims it has commissioned its specialist Sapphire unit to research how they can better understand the reasons for the increase in reported rapes.

Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin said:

"We have seen a significant drop in crime over the last ten years which represents our continued focus on tackling these offences and bringing criminals to justice.

"Whilst I am pleased by these reductions, the Met is not complacent and challenges remain in a number of important areas of our work. Serious youth violence rose by 3.1 per cent in 2010 - this figure corresponds with a rise in overall knife crime for the same period, which is up by 8.3 per cent. Knife crimes where a knife was used to injure are down by 3.3 per cent [140 offences] in 2010.

"I am committed to tackling the issues of serious youth violence and knife crime and I know that my officers will do all that they can to make the streets of London safer for everyone."

2010 figures compared to 2009:

Gun crime: -10.4 % (352 fewer offences).

Residential burglaries: 3,392 fewer compared to 2009.

Violence with injury: -5.8%

Road fatalities: 58 fewer

Race and religious crime: -10.9%

Domestic violence: -5.2%

Homophobic crime: -4.8%

Homicides: 125 (seven fewer than 2009 and the lowest since 1978)

Theft of motor vehicle: +2% (but has fallen 58.2% compared to ten years ago)

Theft from motor vehicles: +0.3% (but has fallen by 30.8% compared to ten years ago)

Rape: Up by 647 cases in 2010 compared to 2009.

Robbery: +7 per cent in 2010 ( but has fallen by 32% compared to ten years ago)

Serious youth violence: +3.1%

Knife crime: +8.3%

Knife crime where a knife was used to injure: -3.3%