London police investigated more murders than their New York counterparts did over the last two months, statistics show, as the British capital’s mayor vowed to fight a “violent scourge” on the streets.
There were 15 murders in London in February against 14 in New York, according to London’s Metropolitan Police Service and the New York Police Department. For March, 22 murders were investigated in London, with 21 reports in New York.
Breaking: UK Court Convicts Russell Brand of Rape, Star is Headed to Prison
Harmeet Dhillon resigns as Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights: sources
Alito reiterates he’s not retiring, is committed through end of current Supreme Court term
Body Language Expert Watched El-Sayed’s Smiley Victory Speech, Suggests Revenge Lurked Underneath
Khanna touts new draft committee for likely 2028 presidential bid: ‘I’m honored’
Watch: El-Sayed Supporters Celebrate Win with a Chant That Reveals Their True Priorities
Republican AGs stand ready as ‘last line of defense’ against leftist policies after dismal midterms for party
Watch: CNN Anchor Slips Up and Makes a Telling Admission While Gleefully Reporting Midterm Results
Ted Cruz delivers scathing assessment after far-left Dems sweep midterms and more top headlines
White House official details what gets Trump’s attention in intelligence briefings
Democrats already recruiting oversight staff as left-leaning law firms gear up for Trump investigations
17 years after Fort Hood massacre, victims’ families grapple with gunman’s looming execution
Where Democrats could use their landslide victories to redistrict
Republicans turn on Trump after devastating midterm losses hand Democrats control of Congress
WATCH: Bodycam captures chaotic response to deadly Citibank shooting in Florida
In the latest bloodshed, a 17-year-old girl died on Monday after she was found with gunshot wounds in Tottenham, north London, a day after a man was fatally stabbed in south London.
“The Mayor is deeply concerned by violent crime in the capital – every life lost to violent crime is a tragedy,” a spokeswoman for Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Our city remains one of the safest in the world … but Sadiq wants it to be even safer and is working hard to bring an end to this violent scourge.”
Including January’s figures, New York had still experienced more murders so far this year than London. The cities have a similar-sized population.
Gun violence is much less of a problem in Britain, which has strict gun control laws, than in the United States, and most British police are not equipped with firearms.
But British politicians and police are increasingly expressing concern about London’s rising murder rate, which is driven by a surge in knife crime. Of the 47 murders in London so far this year, 31 have been committed with knives.
Britain’s interior ministry said it was consulting on new laws to further restrict dangerous weapons, including banning online stores from delivering knives to residential addresses and making it an offence to possess certain weapons in public.
Breaking: UK Court Convicts Russell Brand of Rape, Star is Headed to Prison
Harmeet Dhillon resigns as Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights: sources
Alito reiterates he’s not retiring, is committed through end of current Supreme Court term
Body Language Expert Watched El-Sayed’s Smiley Victory Speech, Suggests Revenge Lurked Underneath
Khanna touts new draft committee for likely 2028 presidential bid: ‘I’m honored’
Watch: El-Sayed Supporters Celebrate Win with a Chant That Reveals Their True Priorities
Republican AGs stand ready as ‘last line of defense’ against leftist policies after dismal midterms for party
Watch: CNN Anchor Slips Up and Makes a Telling Admission While Gleefully Reporting Midterm Results
Ted Cruz delivers scathing assessment after far-left Dems sweep midterms and more top headlines
White House official details what gets Trump’s attention in intelligence briefings
Democrats already recruiting oversight staff as left-leaning law firms gear up for Trump investigations
17 years after Fort Hood massacre, victims’ families grapple with gunman’s looming execution
Where Democrats could use their landslide victories to redistrict
Republicans turn on Trump after devastating midterm losses hand Democrats control of Congress
WATCH: Bodycam captures chaotic response to deadly Citibank shooting in Florida
“This government is taking action to restrict access to offensive weapons as well as working to break the deadly cycle of violence and protect our children, families and communities,” a Home Office spokesman said.
Khan, who has been in office since May 2016, is from the opposition Labour Party. Before him, Conservative Boris Johnson was mayor for eight years. The national government has been run by the Conservatives since 2010, with Prime Minister Theresa May previously serving as interior minister from 2010 to 2016.
Britain’s most senior officer, London police chief Cressida Dick, said gangs were using online platforms to glamorize violence, adding that disputes between young people could escalate within minutes on social media.
The Ben Kinsella Trust, an anti-knife crime charity named after a young victim, said social media amplified a range of other factors that have contributed to the crisis.
