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