London Isn't the Crime Hellhole of US Fantasy

It’s surreal living in a war zone when you can’t see the war. London is under assault: Crime is “through the roof,” creating no-go areas and rendering the city unrecognizable, according to US President Donald Trump — claims amplified by his MAGA allies, a growing social-media army and Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage. At the same time, statistics this month showed the British capital’s homicide rate falling to a record low, below that of many global peers and at a fraction of the level endured by major US cities. The disconnect is jarring.

I haven’t noticed any descent into a cesspool of lawlessness since moving to London from Hong Kong, one of the world’s safest cities, three years ago. The data say I’m not living in a bubble. Knife crime and mobile-phone robberies — two categories that draw a lot of media attention — have fluctuated, but at this point stand at about the same level as on my arrival in September 2022. “I dare you, I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 o'clock of an evening wearing jewelry,” Farage said last year. “You wouldn't do it.” I’ve walked around the West End many times at night and never felt unsafe, though admittedly I don’t own a Rolex. Perhaps I’ve just been lucky.