London and New York regularly compete for the title of best city in the world, but in recent years the focus has often been on their problems.
Today the Mail’s US correspondent revealed the shocking stories of Tube workers battling to contain the rise in shameless law-breaking on the network, describing them as a grisly reminder of the New York Subway’s descent into anarchy in the 1970s and 80s.
Over the past few weeks, there have been reports of a man apparently smoking crack cocaine in a Tube carriage, a member of staff suffering a fractured skull after being punched in the face by a fare dodger and a passenger stabbed in the neck.
The comparison with New York’s notorious metro system will disturb any Londoner concerned about public safety in Britain’s capital.
But how do both cities compare when it comes to broader rates of crime and other serious social issues like homelessness? Below, MailOnline examines the evidence.
Harry Pitman, 16, became London’s last homicide victim of 2023 when he was stabbed and killed on New Year’s Eve on Primrose Hill
Murders, shootings and stabbings
Commentators have frequently drawn comparisons between the murder rate in London and New York.
In February 2018, 15 people were killed in London compared to 14 in the Big Apple – leading to a wave of headlines. But generally the murder rate in the UK capital is far lower than in New York.
London saw 104 homicides last year, equivalent to 12 per million people. This compared to 386 in New York, equivalent to 45.4 per million.
Looser gun laws in the USA are one of the reasons for shootings being far more common than in the UK.
Overall, 1,150 people were shot in New York over the course of last year.
While matching figures are not yet available for London, Met statistics reveal that between January and November there were 175 recorded incidents of guns being fired.
London is notorious for its knife crime problem.
Last year saw another wave of senseless killings including the murder of 16-year-old Harry Pitman, who was stabbed to death on Primrose Hill while waiting to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks.
In September, 15-year-old Elianne Andam was stabbed while she made her way to school in Croydon.
New York is notorious for gun crime. In February, a 22-year-old man was shot dead in Times Square
Once again, different reporting methods made it difficult to precisely compare the scale of knife crime in London and New York across the whole year.
However, NYPD statistics show that from January 1 to August 13, 53 died by knife in New York.
This compares to 41 in London over the same time period, according to the London Murder Map.
Rough sleeping
Homeless people are a common sight in both cities, with the numbers of people sleeping rough rising since the pandemic.
Local leaders in London have described the capital as the ‘epicentre’ of Britain’s homelessness crisis – with high rents driving people onto the streets.
Councillor Darren Rodwell, the Leader of Barking and Dagenham borough, said: ‘The situation is increasingly unmanageable and requires urgent government action. We cannot continue in this disastrous direction.’
Rough sleepers lay in their makeshift beds outside shops on Oxford Street at daybreak in August
The issue rose to public prominence in December when a man sleeping outside a McDonald’s was soaked in dirty water by a security guard trying to move him on.
Shocking video uploaded to social media shows the guard – who was later sacked – splashing water over the ground with a mop next to where 25-year-old Aaron McCarthy was sitting.
Similarly, homelessness in New York has been described as a ‘massive humanitarian crisis’.
Despite New York Mayor Eric Adams’ efforts to address homelessness the number of individuals living on the streets has increased by nearly 18 percent in a year
This was despite Mayor Eric Adams administration’s pursuing aggressive measures to tackle the problem including enforcement, sweeps, and outreach initiatives.
The problem in NYC has been exacerbated by the arrival of 100,000 migrants over the past year, loading pressure onto the city’s shelter system.
Crime on public transport
Crime on the London Underground has skyrocketed by 56 per cent in a year fuelled by a shocking rise in theft and robberies, worrying figures have revealed.
The number of crimes between April and September this year on the underground was 10,836, compared with 6,924 in the same period in 2022.
This included a rise in the number of thefts recorded from 2,935 in 2022 to 5,378 this year.
According to the latest data from Transport for London (TfL), reported offences are up 30 per cent overall across all services this year
Ricky Morgan, 35, slashed and stabbed passenger James Porritt during an unprovoked attack on the Tube in July 2021. He was jailed for a minimum of 16 years
Meanwhile the number of robberies soared from 164 to 340. Offensive weapon offences recorded went from 24 to 62, hate crime increased from 422 offences to 553, and violence from 1,203 to 1578.
According to the latest data from Transport for London (TfL), reported offences are up 30 per cent overall across all services this year.
Sarah Olney, the Lib-Dem MP for Richmond Park, told the Standard: ‘Londoners should be able to feel safe on their public transport, yet these shocking figures tell a different story.
The New York Subway has a poor reputation among passengers for safety, with New Yorkers complaining of feeling threatened by homeless and mentally ill people in the transit system.
That population surged during the pandemic as New Yorkers with homes avoided the subway, and those with no place to live sought refuge outside the confines of shelters.
The overall subway crime rate spiked in April 2020, as COVID-19 gripped New York, but city statistics show the daily rate fell back to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2021.
A New York City police officer standing guard on the subway, with has a poor reputation among passengers for safety
The death of 30-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator Jordan Neely in May 1 renewed the debate around subway crime. Mr Neely was in the midst of a breakdown when he crossed paths with Daniel Penny, 25.
Video showed Penny grabbing him from behind, wrestling him to the ground and holding him for six minutes until he passed out.
He was later charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, but has amassed significant support by some Republican campaigners who believe he is a ‘hero’ for intervening to ‘protect’ other passengers.
