“London is more dangerous than New York — the murder capital.”
CBS News headline, Apr 2018, echoed widely since.
Verdict: Misleading
The record
Over the full year, New York was about twice as deadly.
The headline came out of one month. In February 2018 London recorded 15 murders and New York 14, and that was the story. Take the whole year instead and it reverses: New York 295, London 136.
The two cities had exactly the same number of fatal stabbings that year, 76 each. New York’s overall murder rate was still roughly double. By 2025 there is no argument left in it: London is at 1.1 per 100,000 against New York’s 2.8, and about a tenth of Chicago or Philadelphia.
- 2018 full year
- New York 295 murders, London 136. Around twice the rate.
- 2025
- London 97 homicides, 1.1 per 100k, fewest since 2014
- The trick
- one month, carefully chosen, standing in for the year
