Police have imposed bail conditions on more than 330 people to stop them attending the Notting Hill Carnival as part of pre-emptive action to stop violence erupting. Scotland Yard officers also raided a suspected robbery gang in London which may have been planning to target the globally-famous street festival.
A number of known sex offenders have also been banned from attending the event, on its 60th anniversary, and dozens of zombie and other knives have been seized.
Massive police deployment
More than 7,000 officers will be deployed to west London over the August Bank Holiday in a huge Met Police operation for the carnival which is forecast to see a mixture of sun and rain on Sunday and Monday.
Commander Claire Smart, Gold Commander for the carnival, said: "The vast majority of people who attend Carnival come to celebrate, enjoy themselves and be part of something unique. Our job is to help make sure they can do that safely."
At least a million, possibly two million, people are expected to attend the festival which celebrates Caribbean culture, community and heritage.
Pre-emptive action and raids
In pre-emptive action by the Met, people suspected of planning violence at the festival have been arrested and charged. Where charges were not possible, bail conditions were imposed on more than 330 people to stop them attending it.
Scotland Yard, working with officers from Greater Manchester Police, swooped on several London addresses, arresting seven people on suspicion of robbery. They are believed to be part of a gang that targets music events and festivals to commit serious offences. The Met said information suggests they have previously targeted the carnival and may have been planning to do so this year.
Raids took place to seize 66 zombie knives in north east London and 10 zombie knives, 30 flick knives and a machete in east London. Registered sex offenders suspected of being likely to attend the festival have had conditions attached to their licences to stop them from doing so.
Security measures and public safety
Officers visited local pubs, hotels, restaurants, fast food outlets, phone and vape shops, as well as supermarkets, to raise awareness of the risk of child sexual exploitation and trafficking. An order under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 will be in place, giving officers additional search powers to find weapons.
More live facial recognition cameras will be deployed at the event, and its approaches, after the technology identified 98 people last year leading to 61 arrests and officers stopping and speaking to 30 registered sex offenders.
Given the scale of the event and previous violent incidents, some local residents and businesses in west London have boarded up their homes and storefronts to prevent them being damaged. Commander Smart added: "An event of this size inevitably brings challenges. Preventing serious violence, protecting women and girls and supporting the event organisers as they work to ensure crowd safety remain key areas of focus.
"We have strengthened our plans to target those who come intending to commit violence or engage in other criminality. We will use intelligence-led tactics including stop and search, as well as the increased deployment of live facial recognition cameras, to identify offenders, prevent harm and intervene early wherever possible."
British Transport Police stressed that public transport will be "exceptionally busy" throughout the weekend. Chief Superintendent Dominique Ioannou said: "We want everyone attending Carnival to enjoy themselves, look out for one another, and treat fellow passengers and transport staff with respect. We also encourage the public to remain vigilant while travelling and to report anything that doesn't feel right. Speak to a police officer or member of staff, or you can text us discreetly on 61016."
At last year’s carnival, there were 528 arrests including 55 for assaulting police officers, 167 for drug offences and 50 for possession of offensive weapons, as well as four reported stabbing/slashing incidents.
