GETTY London is now more dangerous than NYC

FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Figures released earlier this week uncovered the crisis facing British police forces as crime rates across the country surged by 13 per cent. The last decade has seen London's Metropolitan Police move away from neighbourhood patrols which criminal justice experts have blamed for the rise in crime. The damning figures come amid increased pressure on the capital's police force to save £400 million before 2020, with the number of officers expected to fall below 30,000 for the first time in more than a decade.

Last year there were almost 70,000 burglaries in Greater London, of which 43,000 happened in peoples' homes. The number of robberies has also heavily increased due to the rise in mobile phone theft. According to the statistics London has almost three times the number of reported rapes than New York City.

Police terrorist training exercise Tue, May 10, 2016 Emergency forces and shoppers take place in a simulated terror attack at the Trafford Centre, Manchester Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 31 Shoppers take place in a simulated terror attack at the Trafford Centre, Manchester

Figures suggest the average person is almost six times more likely to be burgled in London than in New York, and one and a half times more likely to be the victim of a robbery. Last week it emerged Scotland Yard wouldn’t investigate a large amount of low-level offences because of cost cuts. But Scotland Yard officials defended the cost-cutting policy, with the force introducing a 'Crime Assessment Policy' to help police officers judge which crimes are worth following up.

GETTY There were 70,000 burglaries in Greater London

Rory Geoghegan, head of criminal justice at the Centre for Social Justice, said neighbourhood policing had a wide range of benefits. He said: “By embedding proactive community policing, the NYPD is helping tackle crime, improving the quality of life and building better relationships with the community. "It’s an approach and argument that London is struggling to maintain never mind bolster, with too many preferring to talk excitedly about investing in crime hubs to hunt online trolls.”

GETTY Scotland Yard defended the cost-cutting policy