News from Caroline Russell: Met Commissioner will not commit to zero murders target

When asked by Caroline Russell to set a target to end homicides in ten years, Met Commissioner Cressida Dick was floored and lost for words, before responding with ‘Frankly, I don’t think I would.’

Between 2005 and 2020 there was a total of 2,140 homicides in London. Caroline’s report, Zero Murders: A Vision to End Homicide in London, investigated homicide rates and how to reach a target of zero murders. [1]

Since 2014, homicides committed using a knife or sharp implement have been steadily increasing and Home Office data since 1981 shows London’s homicide rate has been consistently higher than in other regions.

Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell says:

“Murder rates have barely reduced since 2005.

“I’m shocked that the Commissioner was lost for words and did not agree that zero is the only acceptable target number for homicides in London.

“This target already exists for road deaths with Vision Zero, there’s no reason we should limit our ambition to end preventable death to road death.

“We must be aiming for zero homicides each year to have a strategic goal, focused on prevention and measures to address inequality and other causes of violence to measure progress against.

“Setting a bold target will encourage bold action. There is no other acceptable target.”

Caroline’s report also highlights worrying disproportionality between different groups.

• Young black people and black people generally are significantly more likely to be victims of homicide.
• Domestic abuse homicides from 2005 to 2020 represent 16.8 per cent (361 out of 2,140) of the overall homicide deaths in London. However, the victims of domestic abuse homicides are overwhelming (74 per cent) women and mainly people aged between 25-44, highlighting that domestic abuse homicides are disproportionally gendered.
• The number of homicides of people aged 13-24 and 25-34 is consistently greater than any other age group.
• YouGov poll in May of this year 43 per cent of Londoners said crime was the most urgent issue to be tackled by London, only behind housing. [2]

Caroline also raised that between 2005 and 2018 Iceland recorded just 24 murders and over the same time period London recorded 1,862 This means that Iceland had 67 murders per million people in that time compared to London’s 210 per million people. That’s three times as many. [3]