Revealed: London's worst area for knife crime
More knife offences were recorded in a single area between Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus than in 700 other similar-sized locations in the city.
It was among more than 200 hotspot areas that accounted for more than a quarter of all London's knife crime last year, according to research by the Policy Exchange think tank.
The geographical concentration of violence comes as knife crime in London has increased by 58.5 per cent to a record 16,789 offences in the three years to 2024. This represents some 32.1 per cent of all knife crime in England.
The Policy Exchange report recommended that Scotland Yard should adopt an enhanced 'zero tolerance' strategy in the top 20 knife crime hotspots where officers would be 'explicitly tasked' to conduct 'very high volumes' of stop and searches.
'The highest hotspot for knife crime in London (in the vicinity of Oxford Circus and Regent Street) should have very large numbers of officers on patrol (at least 100 officers) in this single area during peak times,' said the think tank.
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