Is London crime-ridden? The rest of Britain thinks so

A new report reveals that the rest of the UK perceives London as a city plagued by crime, despite data indicating a decrease in incidents. King's College London conducted polling of the wider population and found that people tend to overestimate crime in the capital. London has gained a reputation for dangerous streets, largely due to thefts of mobile phones, which has damaged its image as a safe place to visit and work.

This perception has been fueled by Donald Trump's feud with London's mayor, Sadiq Khan. Trump claimed that there were areas of the capital where police were "afraid to go" due to a lack of "law and order." Khan's office has countered Trump's claims by releasing crime statistics, showing that London has a lower murder rate than comparable European cities and significantly lower than in the US.

The Metropolitan Police has increased its efforts against street crime, including robberies committed using e-bikes.

The report, titled "London has fallen? Misperceptions of crime, race, religion and life in the UK capital," found that many UK residents may share Trump's view of the city. According to the polling carried out by YouGov, 62% of people guessed that total crime in London had risen between 2019 and 2025, when in fact it fell by 1.4%.

Much of London's reputation has been influenced by videos on social media. Half of the public believe London has the highest rate of violent crime of any region in the year to September 2025, when the city actually had the lowest rate. The public also has an inflated view of the crime risk in London, guessing that 40% of Londoners were victims of crime in a single year, which is more than three times the actual figure of 12.2%.

The UK public incorrectly believes that Muslims make up 35% of London's population, when in reality they represent 15%. This figure is higher among supporters of the right-wing populist Reform UK party. Additionally, 18% of the UK public believes that areas in London are dominated by Sharia law, while 2/3 of Londoners reject this idea.

However, 55% of the UK public correctly believes that London has the highest rate of theft from a person among UK regions. Despite these inaccuracies, London is ranked as the best city in the world for 2025 by the consultancy Resonance. London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, emphasized the discrepancy between the real London and the false perception of it, attributing the "gulf between the real London and the false idea of London that exists inside some people's heads" to a "dark blizzard of disinformation online."