Met prioritises neighbourhoods in new community crime-fighting strategy

The Metropolitan Police Service will continue to drive down neighbourhood crime and precisely target the most harmful criminals, under a new plan launched today (Tuesday, 9 December).

A New Met for London: Phase 2 is a blueprint for the policing of London for the next three years. There will be a continued focus on delivering More Trust, Less Crime, and High Standards – with precision community crime-fighting remaining a core part of the Met’s mission.

Since the launch of the first phase of A New Met for London in 2023, the Met has been delivering results on the issues that matter most to Londoners:

• Arresting more than 1,000 extra criminals every month
• Neighbourhood crime – such as burglary and shoplifting – down 15 per cent with 500 more officers and staff added to neighbourhood teams
• Injuries from violence lower than any other major UK city
• Homicides at a five-year low
• Solved more than twice as many crimes linked to violence against women and girls
• Public trust rising – 74 per cent of Londoners now trust the Met

The Met is now building on what has worked and going further to become the best possible local police service for Londoners. Over the next three years, the Met will focus on the following areas:

• Reducing crime and antisocial behaviour in our neighbourhoods
• Reducing serious violence, focusing on gun and knife crime
• Expanding the use of technology to precisely target the most harmful offenders
• Ensuring our officers are visible, accessible, and responsive to local concerns
• Improving the quality of our service to victims
• Strengthening partnerships within the community to help fight crime and further improve trust with all Londoners
• Shedding bureaucracy to put crime-fighting first

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said:

“Londoners are at the heart of everything we do, which is why we remain absolutely committed to tackling the most serious crimes, including violence against women and girls, alongside the issues that most affect our neighbourhoods – such as shoplifting, phone theft, and the dangerous use of e-bikes and e-scooters.

"Phase 1 of our plan has already delivered real results. Public trust is rising. We’ve driven down neighbourhood crime by 15 per cent. We are arresting more male predators of women and children. Homicide is at a record low and injuries from violence are lower than in any other large British city.

"I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, but our journey is far from over. Communities have told us they value highly visible, locally focused policing, and that’s exactly what we will continue to provide. Over the next three years, we will build on these successes as we make the Met the most trusted and effective local police service for Londoners."

As part of the Met’s wider drive to innovate and deliver results with precision and efficiency, officers will expand the use of technology and data to target London’s most harmful offenders.

We’ll expand the use of live facial recognition across all boroughs, focusing on crime hotspots to maximise operational effect. Since 2024, more than 1,000 wanted criminals, including rapists, violent robbers, and paedophiles, have been arrested through our use of this technology.

We’ll invest in first-responder drones stationed across London for rapid deployment to incidents. They can provide real-time aerial intelligence, allowing officers to assess situations before arriving on scene, improving both safety and tactical decision-making.

We’ll build on our success in using data to target men who commit violence against women and girls. We’ll expand on this work to also identify and target the most violent and prolific offenders across other crime types.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, added:

“I’ve always said that the New Met for London plan should be judged by its results, and we’ve seen welcome reductions in homicides, burglaries and violence with injury, all whilst trust in the Met has increased. These are encouraging steps which have been achieved thanks to the hard work of the Met’s officers, staff and volunteers, backed by a record £1.16billion funding from City Hall this year alone.

“The Met are changing and a big part of the improvement we have seen has been driven by listening to Londoners – acting on their concerns and getting the basics right. But we know there is a lot more work to do so that every Londoner feels served and protected and that’s why I welcome the launch of the second phase of the New Met for London plan, published after an extensive programme of engagement.

“We must take this opportunity to go even further and even faster in improving the service the Met provides Londoners. I will continue to support and challenge the Met to progress more, and deliver less crime, more trust and higher standards as part of our ongoing action to build a safer London for everyone.”

Over the last few months, we’ve met more than 2,500 Londoners through our ‘community crime-fighting’ events being held in every borough. This was an opportunity for residents to ask questions and speak directly with senior officers.

Londoners were particularly concerned about dangerous riding and thefts linked to e-bikes and e-scooters. As a result, the Met is intensifying efforts to crackdown on this criminal activity.

Examples of the types of operations include:

On Friday, 5 December officers in the West End carried out a proactive operation at Cambridge Circus resulting in the seizure of 16 e-bikes. One person was also arrested after being identified as wanted for a sexual offence.

On Saturday, 29 November officers in Ealing seized a total of 12 e-bikes and e-scooters and made one arrest. They set up on multiple points along Uxbridge Road, where these vehicles are known to frequent.

Commander Neerav Patel, leading the Met’s crackdown on illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters, said:

“We are listening to Londoners’ concerns about how e-bikes and e-scooters are being used to commit offences, such as phone snatching and other anti-social behaviour. That’s why we are ramping up action and increasing the roll-out of specialised operations across our neighbourhoods.

“Officers will be using an intelligence-led approach to precisely target hotspots, make arrests, and clear thousands of illegal vehicles from our streets.

“We are not starting from scratch. Through precision-led policing, we have already seized more than 2,500 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters in the last year.”

The Met has also made it easier for communities to connect with their local officers by launching a new two-way engagement tool, Met Engage. Londoners can sign-up to help shape local policing and receive direct updates from local officers.

You can read the full New Met for London 2 plan here.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR: Photos and video content is available here.