London recorded its lowest homicide rate in over a decade in 2025, but this decline masked sharp increases in domestic abuse-related killings of women, murders of elderly victims, and teenage involvement in violence, highlighting deepening vulnerabilities despite overall progress.

This comparative review finds that gun violence across Punjab, Chicago, Rio, Lesotho and Mexico tracks poverty, policing failures, criminal-market shifts and weapon flows rather than musical genres, showing that censoring songs does nothing to reduce homicides while investments in institutional capacity, prevention and gun-supply controls do.

In 2024, Greater London recorded 102 homicides, with knife crime still the leading cause of death but shootings on the rise and a worrying surge in teenage offenders. Black individuals remained disproportionately affected as both victims and suspects, and the City of Westminster, along with several East London boroughs, emerged as new hotspots for lethal violence.

In this interview with AOAV’s executive director, Howard G. Buffett, with over two decades at the helm of his foundation, tells us how his focus is on conflict and post-conflict areas, with an emphasis on agriculture and food security.

Despite the UK government’s commitment and an £8.8m housing fund, homelessness among armed forces veterans in England has increased by 14% in 2022-23.