Notting Hill Carnival arrests hit five-year excessive with 334 detained

Notting Hill Carnival arrests hit a five-year high this year with 334 detained over the two days as police chiefs said they were ‘tired’ of violence blighting the event.

The Metropolitan Police said 230 people were arrested yesterday on top of the 104 on Sunday’s ‘Family Day’ which saw a mother stabbed in front of her young child.

The violence has prompted rank-and-file police to warn ‘no one is safe’ if even mothers with children are now targets for attacks at Europe’s biggest street party. 

Now, research by MailOnline has found that arrests were 8 per cent up on the 308 at last year’s event in West London – and 60 per cent up on the 2022 total of 209.

There was no carnival in 2020 or 2021 due to pandemic restrictions – and the last time arrests were above this year’s total was in 2019 when they hit 354.

The 2024 arrest total is also the fourth highest over the past 20 years – having only also been beaten by 373 in 2018, 407 in 2015 and the record 454 in 2016.

The annual celebration has been running since 1966, and arrests have been on a rising curve since the start of the millennium when they stood at 158 in 2002.

The total over the past 20 years between 2005 and 2024 has now reached 5,312.

Rick Prior, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, told the Daily Mail that the carnival needed to be moved out of Notting Hill so it could be better policed.

His comments came against a backdrop of growing frustration among frontline officers about the level of violence and hostility they are forced to endure at the event, with ‘the vast majority’ said to dread the occasion.

Mr Prior suggested a more contained area, such as Hyde Park, could allow for the celebration to still take place, but in a safer manner.

‘Now people are going after women with children, you know no-one’s safe,’ he said.

‘One has to recognise the cultural significance of the event and no-one wants to be a party-pooper – I personally wouldn’t wish to see the event completely cancelled – but it’s evolved from its roots and it needs to evolve further now.

‘With a huge increase in numbers coming year-on-year, an unacceptable amount of crime, injuries and serious assaults taking place, I just think there has to be alternative, safer nearby venues that need to be, at least, seriously considered.

‘If you’re advertising it as a family event, it needs to be safe. If people see it’s a family day out and want to go there, it shouldn’t be that they become the expected victims of crime when they turn up.’

He expressed frustration at the lack of progress in considering an alternative location since last year’s event, when eight people were stabbed and 308 people arrested.

‘It disappoints me that we’ve not really pushed it forward, for the organisers to at least scope out and consider safer venues where we can still have the celebration, but do it in a much safer manner,’ he said.

The Met said three people were injured in knife attacks on ‘Family Day’ on Sunday, including the 32-year-old mother stabbed in front of her child who ‘narrowly’ avoided being killed.

The carnival’s second and final day, ‘Adults Day’, yesterday welcomed more huge crowds.

Around a million people were expected to attend the celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture over the two days, requiring 7,000 officers to be on duty after scenes of shocking violence in recent years.

Last night, the Met Police confirmed five people had been stabbed on the closing day.

Two of those who were stabbed were in a life-threatening condition, and the force added that the 32-year-old woman stabbed on Sunday also remained in a life-threatening condition.

There was also an incident involving a corrosive substance, the Met said.

Police made at least 230 arrests yesterday, including 49 for possession of an offensive weapon. Three firearms were seized, and 35 officers were injured.

Earlier yesterday, a man wanted for an attempted murder in Hackney in July was spotted and arrested, the Met said.

Thousands of revellers turned out for the final day of the carnival, flooding the streets with colour, costumes, dancing and music.

A heavy police presence was visible after three people were stabbed on Sunday.

Some people were made to walk through metal-detecting ‘knife arches’ as they arrived at the event.

Officer standing in pairs were dotted along the streets, while a police helicopter hovered above throughout the day.

In a statement, the force said weapons had been seized.

‘Officers were able to stop a car in Harrow, believed to be en route to Carnival, where a firearm was seized and two people arrested,’ the force said.

‘Later in the afternoon, officers carried out a search at one of the entry points, seizing a further firearm.

‘A man who was wanted for an attempted murder in Hackney in July was spotted and arrested following a successful stop.’

Thousands of people thronged the area for Adults’ Day yesterday afternoon, billed as the culmination of the annual celebration of Caribbean culture and history.

After months of preparation, dancers showed off their flamboyant costumes and floats blasted music for spectators who blew whistles and horns.

The carnival is billed by organisers as ‘the greatest community-led event on the planet’.

Following Sunday’s disorder, the Met Police made an unusually frank intervention, urging those ‘who value this event’ to come forward if they had information about criminality.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who was in charge of the policing operation for the event, said: ‘We saw the first day of Carnival marred by unacceptable violence. Three people were stabbed and we only very narrowly avoided a fatality.

‘This was supposed to be ‘family day’ – a celebration suitable for all ages. One of those in hospital, a 32-year-old woman whose condition remains critical, was at Carnival with her young child.

‘We are tired of saying the same words every year. We are tired of telling families that their loved ones are seriously injured, or worse. We are tired of seeing crime scenes at carnival.

‘Carnival is a community event and the vast majority of people come to celebrate, to dance, to enjoy music and have a fantastic experience.

‘It is the responsibility of all who value this event, who want to see it as the celebration it should be, to speak out and speak up about the violence that continues to overshadow it.’

The force added that a 29-year-old man who was also stabbed on Sunday remained in hospital in a non-life-threatening condition, and a second man, aged 24, who was stabbed on Sunday discharged himself from hospital.

There were 104 arrests on Sunday and 18 officers were assaulted, Scotland Yard said.

A statement from Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, the organisers of the event, said: ‘Violent incidents are depressingly common throughout society.

‘That affects us too and it is an awful reality that our community unfortunately suffers, all too often. There is no excuse for this behaviour – that is not carnival.

‘Carnival is the people who dedicate so much time, love and incredible creativity to the parade, sound systems, music, food and costumes. That’s why the overwhelming majority of visitors have a fantastic experience.’