Violence Mars Notting Hill Carnival Amid Vibrant Celebrations

The event that is usually considered to be the largest festival in Europe dedicated to the Caribbean culture and way of life took place in Notting Hill. This year’s event was as lively and bright as always; however, the abundance of celebrations was outshone by a series of outbreaks of violence and lawlessness. The Police forces shared that they made more than 90 arrests for possession of offensive weapons or drugs with intent to supply. What is more, a 32-year-old woman was seriously injured in a stabbing incident, and will be taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition.

The event took place as part of the Children’s Day, and two men, aged 29 and 24, have also been injured. The woman remains in life-threatening condition, however, no further information is available on the 24-year-old man. The 29-year-old’s injuries are not reported to be life-threatening. As the event turned into a series of violent outbreaks and stabbing incidents, the metropolitan police issued a section 60 order, which significantly extended the police officers’ search powers across the local area to prevent any further attacks.

According to the official statement, the police had to make more than 90 arrests during the event for offenses including violent disorder, possession of an offensive weapon, and assault on emergency workers. A total of 15 police officers were reportedly hurt during the event, however, their injuries are not reported to be severe. It is worth mentioning that the number of arrests for drug offenses and assault on the emergency workers is great, and calls for further action on the part of the Police forces to control the situation.

The Section 60 order also granted police officers power to require the removal of face coverings, with an arrest power for failing to comply with the order. Even though the event was intended to unite the community and take the police off the streets, this year it turned into one of the largest fairs which calls for additional security and personnel presence. The event ended early on Sunday evening, while in the previous years the Notting Hill Carnival used to continue all night. The Metropolitan Police have to draw certain conclusions based on these events and come up with either stronger measures to prevent crime or more personnel or tougher checks during the event to keep the previous spirit. After the participants evaluate what has happened, the organizers will receive a good sense of what measures should be taken during the next year’s event and whether any decisions have to be taken in terms of the overall level of security. The Police has already shared that they expect the number of attendees to have been reduced down to 500 000 this year, as the overall image of the event has been damaged by violence which could not be contained by the authorities. Even though the event took place as intended and united the community experiencing anti-racisms outburst in the last year, it did not display the same spirit of continuously high-quality organization as in the last years.