UPDATE: Notting Hill Carnival policing operation

UPDATE: Notting Hill Carnival policing operation

Final update - Tuesday 1 September

The total number of arrests as part of the Notting Hill Carnival policing operation this year has been confirmed as 636.

242 arrests took place on Sunday and 394 on Monday.

193 arrests took place on the approaches to the event, with the remainder taking place within the event footprint.

Offences included possession and supply of drugs, assaults (including assaults on emergency workers), possession of weapons, sexual offences and public order offences.

The use of live facial recognition technology was expanded this year, leading to 214 alerts, 121 arrests and 86 registered sex offenders being stopped and spoken to. Seven registered sex offenders were found to be breaching their conditions or notification requirements and were arrested.

Stop and search was used extensively as part of the proactive policing approach. It resulted in 68 weapons, including a handgun, being found.

20:45hrs update - Monday 31 August

Notting Hill Carnival is drawing to a close with the policing operation entering its final phase.

The majority of attendees have left the area but officers remain on duty to ensure those remaining can get home safely.

The two days passed largely without incident with a significant proactive policing operation ensuring the minority who posed a risk to the safety of the majority were deterred or intervened against.

There were two assaults with knives – one stabbing and one slashing – neither of which resulted in life threatening injuries.

As of 20:30hrs there had been 315 arrests on Monday, bringing the total number of arrests over the two day operation to 560. It is likely this number may rise slightly while latter arrests are processed and a further confirmatory update will be provided in the morning.

48 of the arrests on Monday followed identifications using live facial recognition. Use of the technology allowed officers to stop 43 registered sex offenders to ensure they were complying with licence conditions. Three were arrested for breaching those conditions, in addition to three arrested for breaches on Sunday.

Stop and search was used extensively with 62 weapons seized across both days, including a handgun during the afternoon on Monday.

Commander Claire Smart, Gold Commander for Notting Hill Carnival, said: “This is the second year now that we have seen a marked difference in the prevalence of serious violence at Carnival.

“This is the result of not just proactive policing and a determined effort to target our efforts on those posing the greatest risk of harm, but of a collaborative partnership approach to the delivery of the whole event.

“The progress by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd in stepping into so many of the event management and crowd safety roles previously performed by the police cannot be understated. They have delivered a challenging event well and in doing so have allowed us to focus our resources on our core role of tackling crime.”

Very sadly, we learnt earlier this afternoon that a man had died after entering a canal off Kensal Road.

At around 15:19hrs police officers on duty as part of the Carnival policing operation attempted to stop the man, believed to be in his 20s, in the vicinity of Harrow Road as he approached the event. He fled on foot with officers in pursuit.

A short time later, he entered the water in the vicinity of Meanwhile Gardens.

Officers and members of the public went in after him and pulled him from the water. It was quickly apparent that the man required medical attention and officers immediately started CPR.

Paramedics were called and on arrival, continued treatment at the canal side before taking the man to a central London hospital by ambulance.

Despite the very best efforts of all involved, he was pronounced dead a short time later at 16:43hrs.

Urgent enquiries are ongoing to locate and inform his next of kin.

Commander Smart said: “This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the loved ones of the man who has lost his life.

“Any death following contact with the police is passed to the Independent Office for Police Conduct so the circumstances can be fully investigated. I would encourage everyone to avoid speculation while this work takes place.

“I acknowledge the efforts of the officers and members of the public who entered the canal to rescue this man. I know they will be devastated that his life couldn’t ultimately be saved.”

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11:00hrs update - Monday 31 August

The updated arrest figure for the first full day of the Carnival policing operation is 243.

97 took place on the approaches to Carnival and the remainder within the event footprint itself.

61 arrests were as a result of live facial recognition identifications.

The next update will be provided at 20:00hrs

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20:00hrs update – Sunday 30 August

The policing operation for the first full day of Notting Hill Carnival has ensured that the vast majority of people who attended were able to do so safely.

While officers responded to a number of incidents as would be anticipated at event of this scale, the mood has been overwhelmingly positive and celebratory.

As of 19:45hrs, there had been 169 arrests for offences including possession of drugs, possession of weapons, assaults (including assaults on emergency workers) and sexual offences.

Of the total arrests, the majority took place within the event perimeter with 27 on the approaches to the event.

29 arrests were as a result of identifications using live facial recognition (LFR). The increased use of LFR also allowed officers to identify 26 registered sex offenders who were all spoken to by officers to ensure they were complying with any conditions they were subject to. Three were arrested for breaching those conditions.

Officers responded to two knife assaults – a slashing to the leg and a slashing to the hand – neither of which resulted in life changing or life threatening injuries.

Commander Claire Smart, who is in charge of the policing operation, said: “We have been working closely with Notting Hill Carnival Ltd and other partners for many months ahead of this weekend’s event.

“The organisers have stepped forward significantly across the event, including crowd management, and we have seen the positive progress today. While we have seen a significant number of arrests and interventions by officers, the result of that proactive approach is a welcome reduction in the levels of serious violence seen at the event in previous years.

“Nobody involved in the delivery of the event is complacent, however. There are still many officers deployed across the footprint to ensure crowds disperse safely. We will have officers on duty through the night and tomorrow we will go again to ensure we can continue to tackle the minority who want to come to Carnival to spoil the celebration for the majority.”

Campden Safer neighbourhood Team