Black Londoners three times more likely to be killed

Nearly half of London’s murder victims in 2021 were black, the latest figures show. After a record year of violence on London’s streets with 30 teenagers dead, Black Londoners are three times more likely to be violently killed than any other ethnic group.

Met police figures show there were 131 killing investigations in 2021, 107 of which were non-domestic murders. Of these 50 victims were Black (around 47 per cent) and 40 white (37pc) . It means Black Londoners are more likely than other ethnicities to be killed in street violence, despite making up only 13pc of the capital’s population.

READ MORE: ‘I’m treated as another problem in society’: Young Londoners on the reality of stop and search

The new data, given after an FOI request by The Evening Standard, lays bare the stark reality of life for Black Londoners who also face disproportionate stop and search measures. The latest data shows Black people were nine times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched, while almost half of stop and searches took place in London.

Victims of the disproportionate murder rate include Zaian Aimable-Lina, 15, who died in Croydon on December 30 last year after what was described in court as “unprovoked violence with a knife”. Jermaine Cools, 14, was also knifed to death after a fight broke out near West Croydon station on November 18.

The cost of every life lost to violence on the streets is all to evident in the painful statements released by families, and heart-breaking conversations with mums, dads, and friends. Tashawn ‘Tata’ Watt, 19, was remembered as a “brother” and “loyal friend” in the aftermath of his death, while the girlfriend of Shaheba Ali, 17, said: “We were together for nearly six months. It used to be just us 24 hours a day. Now I’m so alone. I keep waiting, sat up in bed, for him to walk through the door. It’s just horrible”.

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Sadly high rate of murder of Black Londoners will come as no surprise. MyLondon recently spoke to the dad of Leo Marcus, 22, who lost his son in 2019 after he went down an alleyway in Woolwich. He was robbed by a known criminal who stabbed him in the heart after Leo tried to fight back.

The Met Police made over 130 arrests in a three day crackdown on drugs and violence last month, with 77 charged or cautioned as a result.

Hello, I am a news reporter for MyLondon. I cover stories across the capital every day.

I qualified as a journalist last year and studied English and History at university, with a special interest in medieval London.

I love London because you’ve never seen it all. Also – all the food.

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