A MailOnline investigation reveals alarming rises in crime around London’s iconic tourist spots, exposing the government’s failure to safeguard visitors and restore public order in the capital’s cultural heartlands.
London’s once-glamorous tourist hotspots are now perilous zones riddled with crime, exposing the failure of this soft-on-crime government to protect our visitors and uphold London’s reputation as a world-class city. A recent MailOnline investigation reveals shocking crime figures near the capital’s most celebrated landmarks over the past year. The area outside the National Portrait Gallery at Trafalgar Square leads with a staggering 3,060 offenses, including 1,200 thefts—an alarming indicator of how unchecked disorder has become a staple of what used to be a vibrant tourist hub. Even the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly isn’t spared, recording 1,652 crimes, in stark contrast to the city’s supposed image of cultural grandeur. Recently, veteran broadcaster Selina Scott was attacked and robbed in broad daylight near this location—an incident that encapsulates the decline in public safety under this ineffectual government.
Other cultural landmarks like the Royal Ballet, London Transport Museum, British Museum, and National Gallery all feature high on the crime list, with theft, violence, and anti-social behaviour now becoming commonplace. It’s clear that the capital’s cultural heart, once a symbol of British excellence, has become a magnet for criminals, driven by a government too busy cutting police and safety measures rather than taking firm action to restore order.
This disturbing trend isn’t isolated to the central zones. Data from Metropolitan and City of London Police from May 2024 to April 2025 reveals a disastrous spike in offences—within just 250 metres of these attractions—highlighting a city in chaos. Notably, Westminster, saturated with tourist sites, reports the highest crime figures, with the British Museum alone recording 1,173 crimes. Places like The Monument, British Library, Southbank Centre, and Cutty Sark show similar troubling patterns—yet these figures are only the tip of the iceberg in a city suffering from rising violence and disorder.
This surge in crime reflects broader national failures, with statistics showing nearly a million crimes across London last year—an unprecedented level. Westminster’s 91,380 offenses dwarf those of neighbouring boroughs, emphasizing that London’s security crisis is concentrated in the very areas it claims to cherish as cultural and tourist centres. Knife crimes alone, numbering 16,789 in 2024, average nearly 50 incidents daily—statistics that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. Shoplifting has doubled since 2022, rising from 38,768 to over 89,821 offences last year, further exposing how the city’s stores and residents are helpless against criminals emboldened by a lax, under-resourced police force.
The responsive measures announced by this government are laughable. Instead of investing in real community policing or preventative strategies, they continue to prop up failing policies while officers are repeatedly cut and units disbanded. Crime hotspots are ignored, and neighbourhood policing has been gutted, leaving London’s streets vulnerable and its citizens unprotected. Veteran officers warn of a force overwhelmed—an outcome of decades of political neglect and a failed approach that treats crime as a peripheral issue rather than a crisis demanding decisive leadership.
Even outside the tourist zones, trouble persists. An analysis of areas around Oxford Street and Soho—lacking major attractions—exposes that crime isn’t confined to the iconic landmarks but is pervasive throughout the city. Westminster remains the most dangerous borough, followed by Camden and Kensington and Chelsea—places where the night-time economy now fuels an epidemic of theft, violence, and property crime, all exacerbated by a government that refuses to take the hard decisions needed to restore law and order.
Despite empty promises, the authorities are struggling to instil confidence. They tout increased police patrols and talk of “more arrests,” yet these superficial fixes pale in comparison to the scale of lawlessness engulfing London. This government’s neglect has led to a policing crisis, with declining officer numbers and hollowed-out resources, leaving the capital’s once-proud legacy of safety and civility in ruins.
The divide between London’s safest suburbs—such as the Greenery in Greenwich or Kensington Palace—and its most dangerous hotspots reveals the stark failure of this government’s policies. It is a city teetering on the edge, where the glow of cultural landmarks is shadowed by the reality of crime and disorder—an indictment of political shallow commitments rather than any serious effort to make London safe again.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Verification / Sources
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14886183/London-dangerous-tourist-attractions-crime-police.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/met-police-crime-hotspots-revealed-interactive-map-london-b1224060.html – An interactive map reveals London’s crime hotspots as the Metropolitan Police prepares to cut 1,700 officers and staff. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics highlight the harsh reality of ‘substantial tough choices’ facing Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s ‘rapidly shrinking’ force. Around 957,481 crimes were recorded across London in the 12 months to December 2024, a rise of two per cent on the year before. Westminster had the highest number with 91,380, more than double that of the nearest densely populated borough of Camden (42,569), Newham (39,990), Southwark (39,500), Lambeth (38,116) and Croydon (35,374). Kingston upon Thames (11,244) had the lowest number of offences recorded in the year up to 2024, followed by Richmond upon Thames (12,065) and Sutton (13,024). Hundreds of thousands of crimes committed included theft, violence, vehicle theft, drugs, public order, burglary, robbery and sexual offences. Almost a third of knife crime in England and Wales happens in London with an incident every 30 minutes, according to shock official figures released on Thursday. The Met recorded 16,789 offences involving a bladed weapon in 2024 – around 46 a day, the ONS said. The figures show that shoplifting in particular has exploded in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Offences have more than doubled from 38,768 in 2022 to 89,821 in 2024. The Met’s £260 million budget shortfall has already let to the axing of 371 safer schools officers transferred into neighbourhood policing teams from May. Amid an epidemic of violent crime, mobile phone snatches and shoplifting across London, senior officers disbanded units protecting eight Royal Parks, despite fierce opposition from councils and victims. Retired Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens, a former Met borough commander, warned the force could soon be overwhelmed by a tidal wave of offending with a million reports a year.
- https://www.westferrytimes.com/world/the-london-boroughs-with-the-highest-crime-rates-2/ – An analysis of London’s crime rates reveals the boroughs with the highest crime rates. Westminster tops the list with a crime rate of 462.8 per 1,000 residents, translating to almost one crime every two people. Camden follows with a crime rate of 582.6 per 1,000 people, reflecting the challenges of policing a borough frequented by tourists and locals alike. Kensington and Chelsea, despite being London’s smallest borough, is its most densely populated and one of the wealthiest, making it an attractive target for criminals with a crime rate of 536.9 per 1,000 people. Islington comes in fourth with a crime rate of 463.4 per 1,000 people, while Hackney has a crime rate of 449.4 per 1,000 people, underscoring the challenges of safeguarding residential properties in densely populated urban areas. Hammersmith and Fulham ranks sixth with a crime rate of 445.9 per 1,000 people, and Southwark has a crime rate of 439 per 1,000 people, reflecting the challenges of policing a borough frequented by tourists and locals alike.
- https://www.londonsecuritycollege.co.uk/is-london-becoming-more-dangerous/ – An overview of London’s crime statistics indicates a mixed picture. Violent crime, particularly knife-related offenses, rose by 9% compared to 2022, with over 10,000 reported knife crimes across Greater London in the last year. Property crime, including burglary and theft, accounted for nearly 200,000 reported cases in the last 12 months, with hotspots in boroughs like Camden, Westminster, and Hackney. Cybercrime has also seen a 43% increase, with phishing scams and online fraud leading the pack. The most dangerous boroughs in London include Westminster, Camden, and Croydon, with Westminster having the highest crime rate in the city, seeing over 30,000 crimes annually, fueled by tourism and nightlife.
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14886183/London-dangerous-tourist-attractions-crime-police.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490 – An investigation reveals London’s most dangerous areas for tourists, highlighting the scale of crimes near popular attractions. The area outside the National Portrait Gallery off Trafalgar Square topped the list with 3,060 crimes over the past year, including 1,200 thefts from people. The Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly was second with 1,652 crimes, including more than 550 thefts. Other attractions with high crime rates include the Royal Ballet and Opera, London Transport Museum, British Museum, and National Gallery. The analysis also identified other areas outside attractions with high crime rates, including the Young V&A, Wellcome Collection, and St Paul’s Cathedral. Despite the thousands of crimes committed outside attractions, separate analysis found a zone straddling Oxford Street and parts of Soho, which does not feature any of the attractions, is London’s worst area for thefts.
- https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/met-police-crime-hotspots-revealed-interactive-map-london-b1224060.html – An interactive map reveals London’s crime hotspots as the Metropolitan Police prepares to cut 1,700 officers and staff. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics highlight the harsh reality of ‘substantial tough choices’ facing Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s ‘rapidly shrinking’ force. Around 957,481 crimes were recorded across London in the 12 months to December 2024, a rise of two per cent on the year before. Westminster had the highest number with 91,380, more than double that of the nearest densely populated borough of Camden (42,569), Newham (39,990), Southwark (39,500), Lambeth (38,116) and Croydon (35,374). Kingston upon Thames (11,244) had the lowest number of offences recorded in the year up to 2024, followed by Richmond upon Thames (12,065) and Sutton (13,024). Hundreds of thousands of crimes committed included theft, violence, vehicle theft, drugs, public order, burglary, robbery and sexual offences. Almost a third of knife crime in England and Wales happens in London with an incident every 30 minutes, according to shock official figures released on Thursday. The Met recorded 16,789 offences involving a bladed weapon in 2024 – around 46 a day, the ONS said. The figures show that shoplifting in particular has exploded in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Offences have more than doubled from 38,768 in 2022 to 89,821 in 2024. The Met’s £260 million budget shortfall has already let to the axing of 371 safer schools officers transferred into neighbourhood policing teams from May. Amid an epidemic of violent crime, mobile phone snatches and shoplifting across London, senior officers disbanded units protecting eight Royal Parks, despite fierce opposition from councils and victims. Retired Chief Superintendent Simon Ovens, a former Met borough commander, warned the force could soon be overwhelmed by a tidal wave of offending with a million reports a year.
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