We counted 128 homicides (murders and manslaughters) in London in 2017 – a 24 per cent increase on the 103 homicides of 2016.
These are not official figures but we have done our best to track every case that is either publicised by the police or comes through the courts.
The Metropolitan Police’s own figures (according to their hate and special crime dashboard) are 134 homicides for 2017, a 22 per cent increase on the 110 in 2016.
However the 2017 statistics include the 13 victims of the Westminster and London bridge terror attacks.
There are several possible reasons for the discrepancy between our figures and the police (see the FAQ on the About page), but it often takes several months for some cases to be confirmed.