London's Murder Rate Higher Than New York’s Amid Surge in Knife Crime

According to an article on RT (April 2, 2018) - London’s murder rate has surpassed New York’s for the first time in modern history as knife crime in the British capital hits crisis levels. It comes amid huge police cuts and falling officer numbers.

A total of 37 murders have been committed in London during the last two months, according to a report in the Sunday Times. In February, 15 murders were recorded by the Metropolitan Police compared to 14 in New York, while initial figures for March count 22 killings in London compared to 21 in the US city.

London and New York City have comparable populations of 8.7 million and 8.6 million respectively. NYC’'s murder rate has decreased by around 87 percent since the 1990s, while the number of London murders, excluding victims of terrorism, has risen by almost 40 percent since 2014.

A report by the BBC from a year ago (April 2017) reported "Gun crime offences in London surged by 42% in the last year, according to official statistics." Knife crime also increased by 24% with 12,074 recorded offences from 2016 to 2017.

Yet London has an almost complete ban on carrying guns and knives.

Bans and restrictions on guns and knives do little if anything to reduce violent crime. Such bans and restrictions disarm those who are inclined to follow the law, but not the violent criminal for whom the law holds little meaning.


Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one. (Cesare Beccaria - Essay on Crimes and Punishments)