London mayoral election 2012: how Boris and Ken's records compare That is the background to one of the most bitterly fought elections of recent years, with each side liberally pelting the other with insults. Here we compare their track record in four key areas, judged by Londoners [PDF] to be the issues they care about the most. Crime rate Total crime in London has decreased year-on-year since 2002/03, if you do not take into account last summer's riots (although there is controversy there over how the rate is counted). Yet both candidates accuse each other in their manifestos of not combating crime appropriately. Boris Johnson's manifesto cites: "Comparing my term against that of my predecessor: There are 1,000 extra warranted officers on the London's streets now than there were in May 2008. Total crime has been cut by 10.8 per cent. The annual figures do not quite bear this out. In 2007/08, the year before Johnson came to power, there were 113.5 crimes for every 1000 people. This dropped to 105.3 in 2010/11, the last year for which data is available - a fall of 7.2 per cent. Meanwhile, Livingstone argues that although crime has fallen, the rate of decline has slowed to only one per cent. He adds in his manifesto: "Overall crime was cut significantly when I was Mayor and continues to fall. [But...] robberies have increased... It is scandalous that in the face of this crime wave the Tory Mayor cut the number of police. In fact, robbery rates peaked in 2006/07, during Livingstone's second term, at 6.1 robberies per 1000. They fell to 4.3 in 2009/10, before a slight rise to 4.6 last year. Livingstone's claims of a 'crime wave' could be seen as overblown, when the latest figure is 25 per cent lower than it was four years ago. Travel costs Bus and tube fares increased substantially during Johnson's term, including a whopping 14.1 per cent rise in bus prices in 2010. This year, a week-long travelcard for zones one and two will set you back £29.20 - up from £24.20 when Johnson became mayor in 2008. Johnson notes in his manifesto that delays on the underground system have been cut by 40%, but admits that more upgrades still need to be done. He hangs back from promising price cuts, but says: "I promise to be honest and transparent about fares setting and by cutting waste at TFL, my approach will keep fares low in the long term." Livingstone shows no such hesitance. He writes: "I will cut fares by 7% this year and freeze them throughout 2013." Cutting travel costs is a real crowd pleaser in London, where many live more than an hour away from work. Livingstone also cut fares in 2008, shortly before his pre-election campaign: bus fares fell by 6.6%, while tube fares were cut by 1.2 per cent. But previously costs had risen across the board - notably in 2005 and 2006, when bus fares jumped by 9.7per cent then 10 per cent. Unemployment London unemployment rate floated one to two per cent above the national average for more than a decade, and has echoed the nationwide rise since the financial crisis in 2008. Boris Johnson promises in his manifesto to combat this by creating 200,000 jobs in London in the next four years, including 10,000 roles through the Olympic legacy and 14,000 in the Crossrail scheme. Livingstone takes the alternative view that the London mayor's powers are insufficient to "boost growth in London's economy." However, he claims that with his policies Londoners will have more money in their pocket and will be better equipped to survive the economic crisis. He pledges to champion equal pay for women, to extend London apprenticeships for 16- to 18-year-olds and oppose restrictive practices on hiring skilled workers from abroad. Housing House prices have been on the rise throughout both of the candidates' past terms. Indeed, London property sales has stayed strong while prices across the rest of the country have tumbled. Although this has provided relief for home-owners, who have seen their assets grow in value, first-time buyers are struggling to get onto the property ladder. Deposit requirements have risen beyond the reach of many young workers. Livingstone pledges: "I will investigate providing mortgage deposit guarantee for people who are able to service a mortgage but not able to access the large deposit to get on the housing ladder." He also promises to build 35,000 new homes a year. Similarly, Johnson pledges 55,000 new affordable homes by 2015 for low and middle income workers, He adds: "I will boost the First-Steps programme of low-cost home ownership products as their circumstances change, and encouraging providers to develop products which let households convert rent into equity."