The Government needs to “play their part” to prevent the numbers of violent crimes getting higher in 2019, a politician has said.

The murder rate in the capital this year has reached 131, as of December 20 – the highest in nine years.

Now the London Assembly Labour spokesperson for crime, Unmesh Desai, is calling on the Government to more to stem the rise in violent crime in the capital.

Mr Desai said: “The causes of violent crime are undoubtedly complex, but this is the balanced approach between proactive and reactive measures that we need in our capital.

“Going forward into the New Year, to prevent more tragedies taking place on our streets, it is clear that we need the Government to work more closely with us and play its part to properly fund our police and public services.”

Since the start of the year Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched several measures to tackle the rise in violent crime in the capital.

A Violent Crime Taskforce, which was launched in April, made more than 1,300 arrests in its first six months.

And a Violence Reduction Unit aims to tackle violent crime by working with local authorities, youth and health services and police.

But despite these initiatives, there were warnings the number of police officers could fall below 26,800 if the Government does not provide enough funding for local police forces across the country.

Figures released earlier this year by City Hall already revealed the number of police officers in London had dipped below 30,000 for the first time in a decade.

Mr Desai added: “We have been using all the tools that we have at our disposal to tackle the scourge of violent crime.

“In the face of swingeing Government cuts, the Mayor has invested in crime prevention measures wherever he can, putting in place the Violent Crime Taskforce and the Young Londoners Fund.

According to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the homicide rate for 2018 passed 2017’s total of 122 in November.

The number of murders was highest in the central London boroughs of Southwark, Greenwich and Hackney, where there were 10, nine and eight murders respectively.

According to the latest data from the Metropolitan Police, which runs from January to November 2018, there were seven murders in Waltham Forest and Haringey, four in Barnet and three in Enfield.

In 2017 there were eight murders in Enfield and five in Barnet.

But in Haringey and Waltham Forest the murder rate rose from the previous year – there were two murders in Waltham Forest and four in Haringey in 2017.

A total of 57 per cent of deaths in London were as a result of stabbings.