2019 ends with 149 killings in London

The number of homicides in London has hit an 10-year high and there has been a surge in knife and gang-related killings since 2014, figures show.

The Metropolitan police recorded 149 homicides in 2019 up to 30 December. In five years the homicide rate has increased by more than 50%, from 94 cases in 2014.

Despite the introduction of a raft of measures to tackle the problem, the 2019 total was up 10% on the 135 homicides recorded in 2018, and the rise was concentrated in the poorest areas.

In London, two members of the Turkish speaking community lost their lives in the violence.

On January 29, 17-year-old Nedim Bilgin was stabbed to death in Caledonian Road, north London. It believed the attackers tried to steal Nedim’s bike which he refused to do so and was stabbed with a ‘Rambo’ fatally stabbed. four teenagers and a 22-year-old who were arrested afterwards released on bail. Three more men were arrested, aged 18, 18 and 22, on January 31, they were also released on bail.

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nedim bilgin

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On June 1, Baris Kucuk a 33-year-old man was attacked a stabbed in his leg in the early hours of the morning on Seven Sister road, North London. 3 days later he lost his life on June 4 in hospital. A 17-year-old male arrested on suspicion of murder then released under investigation. A 24-year-old Adam Tarik has been charged with murder and possession of an offensive weapon and is expected to appear in at the Old Baliey for the third part of the hearing in February this year.

Figures for the rest of the country are not yet available but the second biggest force, West Midlands police, reported a fall from 51 murders in 2018 to 39 in 2019. Of those 39, 19 were stabbings and three were shootings.

Greater Manchester police, the third-biggest force in England and Wales, said it could not provide homicide statistics.

Figures from the Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) reveal longer-term trends in the capital. Shooting deaths in London totalled four in 2014, rose to 15 in 2018 and fell back to 12 in 2019.

Fatal stabbings numbered 55 in 2014 and have gone steadily up, reaching 90 in 2019, according to Met figures.

Thirty-nine people aged under 25 were killed in 2014, 66 in 2017 and 46 last year.

Killings linked to gang violence have more than doubled in the last five years, from 17 in 2014 to 44 in 2018 and 42 in 2019.