A shocking new survey has shown that over 25% of Londoners have been victims of an assault or violent threat in the last five years.
Approximately 2 million individuals were victims of violence or threats during that time, according to research conducted by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
Analysis reveals that taxpayers spent approximately £7 billion in 2023 on violence in London, which is a concerning and eye-opening figure.
Ten percent of Londoners have personal experience with an illegal firearm, and nine percent think it would be easy to get one for themselves, according to research commissioned by the CSJ and carried out by Survation.
One out of ten individuals worry that gang members armed with weapons may harm them.
Half or more of the people polled would want to see police officers more often walking the beat and answering citizen complaints.
There was a 30% spike in knife crime after the outbreak in 2020, according to the same study that came out in December 2023.
These numbers follow research by the CSJ, which found that in 2023, the cost to taxpayers of violence in London was close to £7 billion.
In 2019, Sadiq Khan’s violence reduction team commissioned research that estimated £3 billion—more than triple that.
According to Nikita Malik of CSJ, “It’s hardly surprising that Londoners are demanding more from the police” since one out of four had been victims of violence or threats of violence in the last five years.
Nearly two-thirds of those who took the survey also indicated they think police should be able to employ stop-and-search.
With an increase in adolescent killings in London in 2023 compared to the previous year, these findings are timely.
On a broader scale, of all knife and weapon offenses in England and Wales that resulted in a caution or conviction, over 18% were perpetrated by youths aged 10–17.
According to the CSJ’s study Serious Violence in London, forty percent more crimes were reported in the poorest regions than in the wealthiest areas. This suggests that crime has a disproportionate impact on the poorest.
