, Columnist
Why London Has More Crime Than New York
You’re still less likely to be murdered in London, but New York’s bigger police presence has made a difference on other crimes.
Life’s a little different in New York.
Photographer: Kena Betancur/Getty Images
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When I lived in London in the early 2000s, violent crime was on the rise, the Underground was plagued by breakdowns and delays, much of the city looked dirty and run-down, and my neighborhood playground always seemed to be covered with broken glass.
“It feels a little like New York in the 1970s,” I said to a local once at a dinner party. He looked at me strangely for a while. “Without the guns, of course,” he finally replied.