Officers worked hard to protect London, through engagement and explaining the legislation throughout the lockdowns and easing of restrictions, and continued to target those involved in violence and other crimes.

The data is for financial year 2020-21, compared with the previous year.

The report provides information on changing crime trends throughout the pandemic, such as a significant reduction in various crimes such as robbery (-43 per cent), theft (-39 per cent), burglary (-29 per cent) and violence against the person (-2 per cent), given the COVID-19 restrictions and regulations, with no opportunity for public interaction and the closure of night time economy.

Where there was an increase in offences, these include drug offences, with 5,340 more recorded offences due to proactive operations and targeting by officers leading to more detections. The number of hate crime victims increased by 2,289 between each year, and domestic abuse flagged offences rose by five per cent, with a total difference of 4,486 offences year on year.

The report details the Met’s response to COVID-19 specific legislation, including demographics of those in breach of the legislation, age, gender, ethnicity, and outcomes. In line with national guidance, the Met adopted a 4Es approach to targeting COVID-19 restriction breaches, which were engage, explain, encourage and enforce. Our aim was to encourage people to follow the regulations for the safety of themselves and others. Under enforcement, officers did issue fixed penalty notices, which were the only part of this process to be recorded.

The report can be found on our website