Violence Mars Notting Hill Carnival Amid Celebrations

Notting Hill Carnival is a yearly event of portraying celebration of Caribbean culture. However, this year’s party witnessed a lot of violence and crime that could not just go unnoticed. This paper will examine these incidents, the response by police and stakeholders, and the implications then give a conclusion.

During this year’s Notting Hill Carnival, one woman, thirty-two years old, is reportedly hurt and in critical condition for being stabbed when the party was ongoing. The other two men, one twenty-nine years old and the other twenty-four years old, had been stabbed too. The twenty-four-year-old man’s condition remains unknown to the public.

A total of ninety persons have been arrested in the first day alone, and of these, eighteen arrests were for possession of offensive weapons. These seemed police equal problems because they too had fifteen officers injured in the course of their work. It took a Section 60 order by the policeman to request for orders for those attending the party to remove their hoods and facemasks to help in pursuing suspects.

Notting Hill Carnival has been happening without too many incidences since the 1960s celebrating Caribbean culture. Unfortunately, a few years back, there has been tremendous violence with my source alleging that last year alone, five hundred persons were arrested, and three people were stabbed. A matter of hours later, two other people were also injured on similar grounds.

Notting Hill carnival was attended by around one million attendants, and that is the reason more than seven thousand police officers were on the ground on standby during the two days of the event. It seems this is so much effective because despite the arrest and all the violence, Matthew Phillip, the Notting Hill Carnival executive officer, is quoted admitting that, “it has been a fantastic, vibrant and secure family party Wikström.” The stakeholders and local authority come up with a few measures, including having a total of ninety persons arrested for the first day of the 2019 Notting Hill Carnival alone, to help manage the running of this annual event. Is the problem that there are still such crime and violence rates at the event in future is much of a security measure issue or should questions be raised elsewhere too?

The problem of unending violence and crime at such a festival that has always been seen as the safest has much implication in the security sector. Should the authorities increase safety measures and if yes the extent of the same do they risk the pleasure of the attendants? It is hoped answers to these questions will help come up with a long-lasting solution for the event.

There is no doubt that Notting Hill Carnival is a significant event for the supporters but much should be done by the stakeholders to make it a safer place too. Such action will ensure that the best experience is enjoyed by the attendants who will, in return, attach so much importance to the function.