Key Points
- Neighbourhood crime in London fell by 15% over the past year, according to figures released by the Metropolitan Police and City Hall.
- The 15% fall is equal to around 35,000 fewer offences across the capital.
- The main drivers of the decline were reductions in personal robbery, theft and vehicle offences.
- Ealing saw only a 1% drop in neighbourhood crime, while Hounslow recorded a 9.7% decrease.
- Westminster recorded the biggest fall, with neighbourhood crime down by more than 40%, and phone thefts in the West End were halved after increased police patrols.
- The Metropolitan Police said its crackdown on phone theft included live facial recognition, drones and high-powered e-bikes.
- Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “The figures are clear: London is safe and getting safer each year.”
- Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said London is “one of the safest global cities in the world” and pointed to a campaign against online disinformation.
Ealing (West London News) July 25, 2026 neighbourhood crime fell by 15% over the past year, but the reduction has not been evenly felt across the capital. As reported by the Metropolitan Police and City Hall, the latest figures show a sharper decline in some boroughs than others, with Ealing and Hounslow lagging behind the London average.
What do the latest figures show?
As reported by the Metropolitan Police, the 15% drop in neighbourhood crime across London amounts to around 35,000 fewer offences than in the previous year. The fall has been driven mainly by reductions in personal robbery, theft and vehicle offences.
The data also shows that the reduction was concentrated in central London. In Westminster, neighbourhood crime fell by more than 40%, while phone thefts in the West End were cut in half after the Met increased patrols in the area.
Why are Ealing and Hounslow different?
The figures suggest the picture in west London is more mixed. In Ealing, neighbourhood crime fell by just 1% in the past 12 months, while Hounslow recorded a 9.7% decrease.
That means both boroughs saw smaller improvements than the capital-wide average. The data indicates that while London as a whole recorded a sizeable fall, local experience still varies significantly from borough to borough.
What did the Met and City Hall say?
As reported by the Metropolitan Police, the force said it is using “cutting edge technology” to help tackle crime, including live facial recognition cameras, drones and high-powered e-bikes.
The Met also said its largest operation against phone theft led to 13,000 fewer mobile phones being stolen across London.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said:
“The figures are clear: London is safe and getting safer each year.”
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said critics had been trying to “talk London down”, adding that the evidence shows the city is
How should the figures be read?
The borough-level figures show that headline trends can hide local differences. According to the published reporting, the typical borough saw crime fall by 8.9%, and only eight of London’s 32 boroughs achieved or exceeded the 15% headline reduction.
The figures cover neighbourhood crime categories such as burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and theft from the person. They do not include major categories such as violence against the person, sexual offences, fraud, drug offences or weapons offences.
Background of this development
The latest data comes amid continuing public debate about crime levels in London and how safe the city feels to residents and visitors. Earlier reporting from the Met has also pointed to broader reductions in some crime categories, including knife offences in the force area.
The focus on neighbourhood crime matters because it includes offences that directly affect people’s daily lives, especially theft, robbery and burglary.
In London, these categories are often used to assess whether policing changes and targeted operations are producing visible results on the streets.
Prediction
For residents in Ealing and Hounslow, the figures suggest they may not notice the same level of improvement that is being reported elsewhere in London unless local enforcement becomes more targeted.
If the Met continues concentrating resources on theft, robbery and vehicle crime, boroughs with slower progress could still benefit, but the pace of change may remain uneven.
For the wider London audience, the headline fall may support confidence in policing efforts, but it is likely that perceptions of safety will still depend on what happens locally, not just across the capital as a whole.
