The Metropolitan Police has welcomed a fall in crime in the capital.

Burglary, car theft, homicides and street crime are all down in London according to figures released by Scotland Yard on Wednesday.

In the 12 months to March 2003 street crimes such as muggings and mobile phone theft were reduced by nearly 16 per cent, vindicating the prime minister's increased emphasis on tackling such offences.

Burglary fell by two per cent across London, with boroughs targeted by the Met's Safer Home Initiative experiencing a 12 per cent drop from January to March 2003 compared with the same period in 2002.

Car crime was down by just over one per cent and homicides by three per cent, although violent crime was up by 10 per cent.

Announcing the figures, deputy commissioner Ian Blair said that they showed what could be achieved with increased human resources on the streets.

"There is a simple message here: this is payback for the additional resources that have been invested in the Metropolitan Police Service," he said.

"The lesson over the past couple of years is that uniformed policing reduces crime."

The fall in reported crime was matched by an improved performance in solving certain types of offences.

There was a nine per cent increase in rapes but this was accompanied by a 25 per cent clear-up rate - three per cent higher than the previous year.

Clear-up rates from Operation Trident, the campaign against black-on-black gun crime, jumped from 25 to 70 per cent, which the deputy commissioner described as a "tremendous achievement".

And 1300 weapons have already been handed in as part of a gun amnesty which still has a week to run.