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Islington Removes 10,000 Weapons as Youth Knife Crime Plummets
Council figures detail growth in safe havens and patrols alongside drops in anti-social behaviour on specific estates.
How we reported this
Islington has taken more than 10,000 weapons off its streets through knife surrender bins placed across the borough, according to the council’s update published on islington.media. A new larger bin installed last year now accepts items such as swords, and the share of young people affected by knife crime dropped by two-thirds in the year to November 2025.
The figures arrive as residents continue to raise concerns about safety in everyday spaces. The council has tied these steps to its broader goal of a more equal borough where people feel protected at home and on the streets. Patrols and reporting tools form part of the same package of measures.
Numbers behind the patrols and reporting changes
The Neighbourhood Patrol Team began work in May last year and has since completed hundreds of day-and-night shifts every week. At the same time the council expanded safe havens from 75 to 300 since 2021, giving threatened residents places to seek immediate support. A fresh online form for anti-social behaviour now handles 60 percent of all such reports.
Enforcement numbers include more than 4,700 fixed penalty notices issued for littering and fly-tipping. Fifty individuals faced prosecution for littering, and one business was taken to court over a noise abatement breach. On the Andover Estate, anti-social behaviour fell by more than half between 2023 and 2024.
Support services and next steps
The Street Outreach Team helped 500 vulnerable people move into accommodation or wellbeing services. Four hundred community events and engagement sessions run each year focus on women’s safety, youth safety and hate crime awareness, while a dedicated Hate Crime Prevention Officer works directly with affected communities.
Residents can use the council’s online reporting form or call 020 7527 2000 for general queries. The same islington.media page lists further contact routes and notes that additional work with police partners is planned to build on the recorded gains.