Cops policing Notting Hill Carnival say it’s a ‘war zone’ — with nearly a third claiming they’ve been assaulted
COPS policing the Notting Hill Carnival have described it as a ‘’war zone’’ with almost a third of them saying they have been assaulted working there.
They described it as ‘’hell’’ and feeling like ‘’lambs to the slaughter’’ with around nine out of ten officers – 89% – revealing they feel unsafe at the West London street festival.
Their fears emerged in a poll conducted by Met’s rank and file Police Federation branch following violent scenes at this year’s Carnival, attended by around two million people over the August bank holiday weekend.
One of the 500 officers surveyed said they would ‘’rather crawl naked through broken glass’’ than work at Carnival.
Another respondent described it as ‘’hell,’’ adding: ‘’It’s a war zone we are sent into year after year.’’
An ethnic cop said they ‘’feel anxious about policing carnival’’ while another officer added: “I dread this event every year, it gets more violent each time.
‘’How many more officers have to get injured or innocent members of the public killed before anything is done?”
Two people, Cher Maximen, 32, and Mussie Imnetu, 41, were murdered at this year’s Carnival.
There were another eight stabbings, 349 arrests – including 72 for possessing offensive weapons – and 61 police officers were assaulted.
Simon Hill, Deputy General Secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: “For years we have made it known that officers don’t like the event. But we had no tangible evidence to support that.
“I felt it was important to get some concrete evidence, to hear the views of officers who work Notting Hill Carnival so we could truly understand what they think of the event and whether they enjoy policing it.
“We chose to focus our survey on the Notting Hill Carnival rather than another large-scale event because of the consistent volume of assaults reported by officers after the event every year.
“Officers also work approximately 30 to 40 hours over the two days, which can have a significant impact on their wellbeing.
“We are also extremely concerned about the public who attend the event being victims of crime that officers feel powerless to prevent due to the sheer number of attendees and crimes committed. No other event in London has this combination or level of issues for officers.”
He added “I’m actually quite shocked by some of the responses. I knew that the event wasn’t popular, for a whole variety of reasons.
‘’But the candour from the officers and some of their descriptions of how they feel, how they felt at carnival and their experiences of being assaulted, quite frankly were shocking.
“One thing that jumped out was that the number of officers who had been assaulted at the event was at 29% of respondents, while the number of officers who said they felt unsafe was up at 89%.
‘’I think this disparity is down to the size of the crowd you’re policing. I think it’s the close proximity of everybody in such a confined area.”
Following this year’s event, there were calls to switch the Carnival from the narrow streets of Notting Hill to a more open space such as Hyde Park.
The Fed will hand over a 24-page document on the survey today at New Scotland Yard and the force’ governing authority at City Hall.
Mr Hill said: “We understand the cultural significance of the event. We just want the event to be safe.
“What that safety looks like is operational – with the Met working with its partners, with the local authority, with Notting Hill Carnival Limited and with the Mayor’s office, to make it safe.
“That could be restricting the numbers of people that come to the area. It could be looking at alternative sites or looking at making it some form of a ticketed event.
“But it could equally be looking at things such as the quality of the stewards, the quality of the communications, the quality of licensing decisions.
‘’If there’s lots of evidence in relation to alcohol consumption and violence, why is the sale of alcohol allowed?
“The event seems to run, in terms of success, by the number of murders that are had. That, to me, is astonishing.
‘’I don’t see how you can judge the success of an event by whether you’ve had a murder or not.
Make it safe
‘’With the crowd’s density, I don’t think it would take too much to have a significant crushing event.
“That’s why I think the event needs to be made safer, because the public are at risk with this event, with the potential for a serious and potentially fatal crushing incident.
‘’Our whole emphasis on Carnival is to make it safe. Now we need the Metropolitan Police and its partner agencies to step up and make it so.”
Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said: ‘’The views of the officers reflect many of the long-standing concerns about crowd safety and crime at Notting Hill Carnival.
‘’They also highlight recent positive changes to officer provision which we know we need to continue to build on.
“Notting Hill Carnival is one of the most iconic cultural and community events in London and one which we continue to support.
‘’But while there have been improvements in recent years, it’s clear there is a need for a step change in the way it is being run if the significant crowd safety risks are to be addressed and to avoid, in a worst case scenario, a mass casualty event caused by overcrowding.
“This can only be achieved with the organisers, local authorities and City Hall all working in partnership with the police to agree clear lines of responsibility, accountability and funding in order to deliver a safe event.’’
He added: “Our other major concern is the unacceptable level of crime at Carnival. Despite over 7,000 officers deployed each day during Noting Hill Carnival 2024, there were still over 350 violent or sexual offences reported including the tragic murders of Cher Maximen and Mussie Imnetu.
‘’This violence included 61 attacks on police officers who were trying their best to police an incredibly challenging situation and keep people safe over the weekend.
“Everyone one who values carnival has a responsibility to speak out against the violence that overshadows it and support efforts to make it safer.”