London boroughs have seen a significant decrease in ‘positive outcomes’ for perpetrators of knife crime, with numbers halving since 2021.
Only 9% of knife crime will result in a ‘positive outcome’, Metropolitan Police crime figures from April 2024 – April 2025 show.
A ‘positive outcome’ for the Metropolitan Police can include a criminal charge, summons and youth or adult caution, with the framework laid out by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
Patrick Green, CEO of The Ben Kinsella Trust, a knife crime prevention charity in the UK, called these figures “deeply concerning, particularly for victims of knife crime”.
Green said: “It will be a worry to the public, you know. It can erode confidence in the criminal justice system and the belief that justice is being provided.
“It’s an outcome that will be concerning I think for every Londoner.”
Green was quick to counteract this statement, by stating that homicide rates are falling from within London, with official statistics showing in the first nine months of this year London recorded the lowest number of homicides since records began.
Green and The Ben Kinsella Trust support the call for more resources for policing.
He added: “Police officers currently do a very good job under very very difficult circumstances.
“It’s important that the police have the resources they need to increase positive outcomes and bring offenders to justice.
“This is about taking knives, and those who carry them, off our streets.”
The Ben Kinsella Trust works closely with the Met, The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and all police forces across the country through their knife crime prevention workshops and immersive exhibitions.
Police numbers across London are dwindling, with data as of March showing a reduction in the total Metropolitan Police workforce (FTE) year-on-year for the first time since 2021.
However, overall police numbers are still higher than they were in 2022, and the decrease is marginal as a percentage of the Met’s workforce.
Green suggests the period of time around 2021, when police numbers and positive outcomes were higher, may have been affected by lockdowns and restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
He said: “We know that police had far more success in terms of tackling knife crime during that period, probably because there wasn’t many people on the streets.”
Emma Sims, a resident of South-East London, was a victim of knife crime in November 2021 when she had her phone stolen.
Sims and a friend were walking through Peckham after some Christmas shopping when they were surrounded by three girls, who they later described as between 12 and 15 years old.
One of the girls asked Sims for her phone, and when she refused, revealed in her tracksuit waistband a few inches of a kitchen knife that had been tucked under her sweatshirt.
Sims and her friend both gave over their phones, and watched as the three girls ran off.
When Sims and her friend arrived home, they called the police and gave a statement, but were told explicitly they were unlikely to get their phones back.
Sims said: “I remember them being very clear about that.”
After a few months of investigation, including speaking with neighbours and searching through CCTV, no footage was revealed of the perpetrators.
Sims’ final correspondence with a Met police officer was an email with their apologies, and the officer’s hope for a “better new year”.
Like Green, Sims echoed the lack of resourcing the Met is currently facing.
Sims said: “The Met could have done more, but I think they’re under-resourced, and we weren’t going to push it.
“They made it clear this is low priority because there wasn’t actually any violence involved. But they were quick, they were efficient, they were friendly.
“Obviously there was no conviction and we never recovered our phones, but I think overall the experience with the police definitely was a positive one.”
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment for this story.
Featured Image Credit: Kristina Tochilko on Unsplash
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