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