Displaying items by tag: crowd safety

This year’s Notting Hill Carnival saw more than 500 arrests over two days, a sharp rise from 349 in 2024. Police deployed over 7,000 officers daily, supported by CCTV, knife searches, and live facial recognition technology, which directly led to 61 arrests, including a registered sex offender, a machete attacker, and a fugitive wanted for a decade. While four stabbings occurred, none were fatal - a reduction in serious violence compared to recent years when murders took place. Arrests included 167 for drugs, 50 for offensive weapons, 21 for sexual offences, and 55 for assaults on police, with two officers requiring hospital treatment. Deputy assistant commissioner Matt Ward praised both proactive policing and carnival organisers for discouraging violence. Despite improvements, concerns remain over crowd safety and overcrowding risks. An independent review is expected to report in October.