‘I don’t go out at night’ How safe is London?

We ask Londoners how safe they are feeling in the capital after recent gun violence.

Transcript

00:00After a 16-year-old was shot in Stockwell, South London, more questions have been raised

00:06about the rise of gun crime in London. According to recent data released this month,

00:13there were 1,248 firearm offences recorded in London in 2023 to 2024, compared to 1,085

00:24in 2022-23, indicating an upward trend in gun violence across the capital.

00:30So how safe are Londoners feeling in the capital?

00:34But I was mugged when I was like 13 years old by like two guys directly outside a police

00:39station and then I had to cry on the police station doorstep for like 15 minutes before

00:44they even opened the door to see what was going on. So like, I feel like that for me

00:49sort of like severely damaged my interest in seeing more cops as the solution to anything

00:53because I got mugged on a cop's doorstep and they didn't do much.

00:56So, you know, honestly, I feel really safe, but I also take the point that I'm like six

01:01foot five, a bit frowny, a bit tall. So I think, you know, I naturally in my body feel

01:05safer than others. Like, for instance, I've been married for a long time and there's areas

01:09that I feel safe, my wife feels less safe in. And that's just the dynamics of a male

01:13and female, some sort of things. But I don't think London is any less safe than it used

01:18to be for most people. It's a massive city. It's nine, 10 million people. Bad things

01:23are going to happen, but they're isolated. And I don't think it's a crime wave. It's

01:27not a livable city. It's a really nice city. And unfortunately, things happen. But it's

01:32a really nice day. People are wandering around. I don't feel unsafe.

01:35At the moment, I haven't felt safe in London for quite a while. And as an older person,

01:42I feel very vulnerable. And because of the police cutbacks and everything, I do believe

01:51where the police are not out on the streets and everything that, you know, I mean, I won't

01:56go out now. I won't go out after when it was darker after five or six. You know, I was

02:01born in this country. I've worked and I've always been out and about. And now I won't

02:08go out after dark.

02:10I do feel safe in London. I lived in London for a long time, then moved away. I kind of

02:16feel that it's as safe as it was when I was still living here. That may be stupid of me,

02:23but I do feel quite safe. I feel safe centrally. I walk around a lot in London. I don't get

02:29the tube very much if I'm central. And I never worry about that.

02:33I think living in a city, living near humans, living near other humans, you invite the possibility

02:37of danger. It's terrible. Most of that can be mitigated by better social provisions rather

02:42than more cops on the ground. And I don't feel safe when I see the cops. I respect that

02:48people prefer them to be around, but more often, I think, just makes people nervous.

02:53But I don't know. I'm probably on the outside as far as that position is concerned.