London's Homicide Rate Hits Grim Milestone After Spate Of Bloodshed telegraph.co.uk

The number of homicides in London so far this year has now matched the total in the whole of 2017, a grim milestone that will fuel the debate of how to tackle rising crime.

After a series of violent deaths in the capital, including the week from October 31 when there were five stab murders, the tally of homicides has reached 118.

This is equal to the number in the whole of 2017, according to Home Office figures, excluding the 13 victims of the terrorist attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

The latest incident involved the death of a 35-year-old woman who suffered an abdominal wound at an address in Ilford, east London, on Monday. A 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The official Metropolitan Police tally of violent deaths this year is 120, but the figure takes in two cases that are being treated as self-defence.

The remainder include 68 stabbings, 12 shootings and two deaths involving a knife and a gun.

A third of the cases (42) involved victims aged 16 to 24, while 20 were teenagers.

Among the victims aged 16 to 24, 30 were stabbed, nine were shot, two died in attacks involving a knife and a gun, and one died in a fall.

For the teenagers aged 15 to 19, six were shot and 14 were stabbed.

How police can tackle the issue has been a subject of fierce debate.

Sajid Javid, the home secretary, is expected to announce enhanced stop and search powers for police within the next few weeks.

He has said police should feel empowered to use the tactic irrespective of whether they are black, brown or white in efforts to combat the “disease” of knife crime.

Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said last week the Home Office had “stepped back a lot” and needed to show “greater leadership”.

Cressida Dick says the Government is leaving police “hamstrung” in the fight against violent crime
Cressida Dick says the Government is leaving police “hamstrung” in the fight against violent crime CREDIT: CLARA MOLDEN FOR THE TELEGRAPH
In an interview with The Telegraph, she said the failure to introduce laws which allow officers to use facial recognition technology to catch “bad guys” has left her officers “hamstrung”. She added that the battle against violent crime would be easier with funding for more officers.

Levels of violent crime in the capital have remained a concern throughout the year, with monthly highs in February and March, when 18 homicides were recorded each month.

These were the second highest monthly totals recorded since April 2010.

The only higher peak was in June 2017 when there were 20, a figure that includes eight people killed in the London Bridge terror atrocity.

If this is excluded, the previous monthly peak was in April 2010 when there were 16.

In total, 111 homicides were recorded in 2016 and 122 in 2015 in the capital, according to Home Office data.