Carnival sees a reduction in serious violence as officers make 528 arrests

A proactive policing operation led to 528 arrests and a reduction in serious violence over the two main days of Notting Hill Carnival.

There were 200 arrests on Sunday and 328 on Monday, with 61 arrests following an identification using live facial recognition.

Officers responded to four reports of stabbing/slashing incidents, none of which resulted in life threatening injuries.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, the policing commander for Notting Hill Carnival this year, said:

“Once again the growing size and popularity of Notting Hill Carnival required one of the biggest mobilisations of police officers this year, with over 7,000 officers deployed on each of the two days.

“Our policing operation was focused on keeping people safe by targeting those who were coming to Carnival to cause harm to others, so the reduction in incidents of serious violence compared to previous years is very welcome.

“Officers were deployed in significant numbers at the event and on the approaches to and from it, tasked with intervening proactively to prevent crime and in particular, violence. They were assisted by the deployment of live facial recognition cameras, a network of CCTV, the police helicopter and knife arches at key entry points which were used effectively in conjunction with additional stop and search powers.

“Live facial recognition proved particularly successful, with the technology helping officers to identify almost 100 people of interest over two days who, without it, would likely have been able to go unnoticed in the busy crowds.

“Delivering Notting Hill takes a real partnership effort. We thank the organisers and others who spoke out in the days and weeks ahead of the event to emphasise what Carnival stands for, to reject violence and to urge anyone planning to come for conflict or confrontation to stay at home. I have no doubt their interventions have helped to make this this year’s Carnival a safer event for all.

“This year the organisers implemented improvements with regards to crowd safety, allowing more of our officers to focus on their core responsibility of protecting the public and tackling crime. However, there remained incidents of overcrowding which required support and intervention by the police. It’s an area that all those involved in the delivery of the event know requires a continued focus.

“The second part of the independent review into crowd safety at Carnival will report in October with a number of recommendations likely to be made. It’s crucial that additional funding is identified at the earliest opportunity to ensure the event organisers, with the support of the wider partnership, are able to implement those recommendations in full. Any funding should reflect the full costs of delivering a safe Carnival, including policing costs, and be in a form that gives certainty and sustainability for future years.”

Further information about arrests:

Of the 200 arrests on Sunday, 52 took place on the approaches to Carnival with the remainder, 148, taking place in the area traditionally recognised as the ‘event footprint’.

On Monday, the number arrested on the approaches was 83, with 245 arrests on the event footprint.

There were 167 arrests for drugs offences, 50 for possession of an offensive weapon, 21 for sexual offences, four for violence with injury and 49 for other violence.

There were 55 arrests for assaults on police officers. Two of the officers who were assaulted required hospital treatment – one for a broken nose and the other for a serious bite to the hand. Fortunately, the remainder were not seriously injured.

The arrests during the event followed a series of proactive interventions in the weeks leading up to Carnival which saw 100 people arrested as well as the seizure of 11 firearms and more than 40 knives.

Further information about the use of live facial recognition:

We used live facial recognition in two locations on the approaches to Carnival.

There were 97 alerts leading to 61 arrests. 30 registered sex offenders were stopped, allowing officers to check they were complying with their conditions.

One of the registered sex offenders was arrested for being in breach of a Sexual Risk Order while another was found in possession of a knife on his way to Carnival.

There were 16 arrests for violence related offences including a suspect alleged to have stabbed someone five times with a machete.

Two knives were recovered (including the one mentioned above).

Four people were arrested for being wanted on recall to prison including two for violent offences and one who had been wanted since 2015.

There were 13 arrests for offences involving violence against women and girls.