The mayor praised the drop. He would not credit the man producing it.

The story

"Pickpocket hunter" Diego Galdino has hit back at Sadiq Khan after the London mayor said vigilantes have "not played any role" in cutting crime. Galdino has built a following by reporting pickpockets to police, and said: "We've had a good impact." Khan praised the Met Police for a 14% drop in "neighbourhood" offences.

The reframe

Two claims are being made about the same falling number, and only one of them can be fully checked. Khan's version credits the Met's own operation; Galdino's version credits unpaid, informal reporting the Met did not organise and does not control. What is notable is not which claim is correct, that is genuinely difficult to isolate, but that Khan's statement rules out the second explanation entirely rather than leaving it open. An institution that measures its own success is not well positioned to volunteer that some of the credit belongs elsewhere, and "not played any role" is a stronger claim than the evidence needed to make it.