Notting Hill Carnival 2000

Report: 14
Meeting: Metropolitan Police Authority
Date: 14 September 2000
By: Commissioner

Summary

Two murders and a significant increase in crime at this year’s Notting Hill Carnival have focused public concern on this event. The usual post event debriefing is currently taking place, and in addition a review is proposed by the Mayor’s office. The MPS believes this review is timely and will give the opportunity to address major concern regarding public safety, which we have held for a number of years. The Media have tried to suggest the MPS operated a policy of non-intervention at this year’s carnival. This is unequivocally not the case. With an 84% increase in arrests this is self evidently not so.

A. Supporting information

1. There follows a description of the policing operation for Carnival 2000, under the headings of: Strategic intention; Statement of intent & codes of practice; Command structure; Resources; and Planning and outcome.

2. A copy of the multi-agency Statement of Intent (1), a history of Carnival (2), tables of figures for crimes, arrests and casualties (3), and a map of the Carnival area (4) are attached as Appendices.

Strategic intention

3. The Metropolitan Police’s approach to the policing of Carnival is accordance with its strategic intention. This lays down the broad areas that police will endeavour to encompass and are as follows:

• Prevent public disorder,
• Assist the organiser and Local Authority to ensure public safety,
• Prevent damage to property,
• Prevent crime and take all reasonable steps to arrest offenders if crime is committed,
• Minimise effects of congestion to vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the surrounding area; and
• Minimise the effects of any disruption to community life in the area.

4. To achieve this intention the MPS looked to build on the success of previous years and provide an environment in which Carnival can take place by;

• Taking into account the concerns of local residents,
• Working in partnership with all key agencies, and
• Providing an appropriate and effective policing response, to any given circumstance.

Statement of intent and code of practice

5. A Statement of Intent and Code of Practice (See Appendix 1) designed to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved in the organisation and running of the event was produced.

6. The document although not designed to be a legally binding contract between the parties involved sought to provide a structured and cohesive approach to the event.

Command structure

7. In policing Carnival the MPS works to a predetermined geographical area based around Carnival route. The area covers a large section of Notting Hill running from Notting Hill Gate in the south through to beyond Harrow Road in the north. St Marks Road acts as its western boundary whilst stretching to Queensway in the east (See Appendix 4).

8. With such a large area to cover the MPS splits Carnival area into five sectors. Each of these sectors comes under the command of a Sector Bronze. These Bronzes who are of at least superintendent rank report to a chief superintendent, Silver, who in turn reports to Gold, the event commander. This group forms the senior command team for the event.

9. The senior command team is collectively responsible under the guidance of Gold for the setting and implementation of the strategy for policing the event. Each sector bronze is assisted by their own dedicated support team consisting of other senior officers who ensure that all policing functions are carried out.

10. To ensure a corporate approach to the policing of the event a structured process is followed. This process is led by a series of Command Team meetings through the course of the year. These meetings are supported by a variety of additional meetings and exercises. These include planning meetings held by the sector bronzes with their own command teams who also participate in specially designed training. A working party also meets to make sure that all necessary administrative and logistical support is in place for the event.

11. In the immediate lead up to the event a series of comprehensive briefings take place. These briefings are used to prepare and inform the supervisors of every policing serial employed on the event. Each briefing follows the same sequence; Gold, Carnival video, Sector Bronze and the sector briefing officer. (The video provides an outline of what to expect at Carnival). In addition every officer employed is briefed by his or her respective sector briefing officer on each day of Carnival. These briefings include Carnival video.

12. To support these pre event functions a series of command team meetings chaired by Gold are held during the course of the event. Two of these meetings are held each day at a location within the centre of Carnival.

Resources

13. The MPS commits considerable resources to the policing of Carnival. The number of staff employed varies over the three days of Carnival with numbers rising to meet the demands of the busiest periods.

14. Overall almost seven and a half thousand (7,500) officers with five hundred and fifty (550) civilian staff were posted to this year’s Carnival. This was made up of the following numbers for each day of the event;

15. Deployment of manpower was focused so as to meet the demands of the busiest periods. These are late afternoon through into the evening of both Sunday and Monday with particular emphasis on the Monday evening. It is only after midnight on the Monday that the workload begins to tail off. To accommodate this situation the times of parade for the serials are staggered with the majority being brought on duty in time to deal with the busy periods.

16. Comprehensive logistical support is put in place to assist the large number of police personnel involved in this event. This covers a multitude of issues ranging from accommodation, catering and transport through to CCTV and Information Technology.

17. It is important to realise that the policing operation for the event takes over complete responsibility for Carnival area from the local police for the entire duration of the event dealing with every incident requiring a police response.

Planning and outcome of Carnival 2000 event

18. A great deal of planning and preparation is involved in setting up Carnival. It is not simply a police operation but a complex process involved a wide range of different agencies.

19. The driving force behind the organisation of Carnival is the Notting Hill Carnival Trust (NCT). Although the event could not happen without the close co-operation of all those parties involved, it is the NCT that is responsible for the actual event within the area of Carnival.

20. From a policing perspective our involvement revolves around the MPS Carnival office that is staffed throughout the year with the sole objective of organising and arranging the police response to the event. This process relies heavily on close links with the main participants responsible for the event with day-to-day contact maintained between police and the NCT. A representative from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBK&C) is a key member of Carnival office team.

21. To ensure a structured and appropriate approach is maintained in this process there are a number of different multi-agency meetings. Representatives from the highest levels of each agency are involved in meetings covering financial and operational issues. A weekend seminar is also held involving all agencies. Coupled with these are biannual public meetings in the locality of the event.

22. As an additional part of the process police together with RBK&C, London Fire Brigade and St John Ambulance provide training sessions for the various disciplines involved in the event such as; static sound systems, steel bands and traders. This is further complemented by the multi-agency briefing of the various enforcement officers including fire officers and those with responsibility for street trading and sound systems.

23. This year’s event saw a 27% rise in the level of crime reported during Carnival that included a number of serious offences. Most prominent amongst these was the murder of two individuals in separate incidents.

24. Both murders occurred on the Monday. The first at about 7.30pm in Kensington Park Road when Mr Abdul Bhatti was attacked by a gang of youths resulting in his suffering a cardiac arrest from which he subsequently died. The second murder was at about 10pm in Kensal Road where Mr Greg Watson was stabbed receiving a fatal wound. In total there were eleven reported stabbings at Carnival, the majority of which took place on the Monday.

25. Other incidents of note included the arrest of an individual in possession of a loaded firearm and the collapse of a wall at 167 Ladbroke Road where two young females fell into a basement area with both suffering serious injury. In terms of public safety of particular note was the number of people at Hornimans Pleasance, the venue of the Radio 1 stage. On Monday at about 5.30pm the venue became so crowded that at the behest of the senior police officer for the area the event was closed down early so as to minimise any risk to the public.

26. In terms of overall crime the figures (See Appendix 3) provide details of crime reported at the time on the Sunday and Monday of the event. The exact number of crime will only emerge following receipt of subsequent reports and the classification of all reported crime.

27. At the conclusion of the event 276 crimes had been reported. This is up when compared with the previous four years - 218 (1999), 185 (1998), 215 (1997), 242 (1996).

28. Of this year’s crime almost half the allegations were theft from individuals under the categories of; robbery of the person (28), theft person dip (82) and snatch (22) at 132 which together with assaults - 57, theft - 35, and drug offences - 19 account for 88% (243) of those reported. Compared with 1999 there was an overall increase of 27% in reported crime. This was in part as a result of slight numerical increases in the number of offences reported in the categories of serious assault and other offence. However the vast majority of the increase was due to a rise in the category of robbery where numbers reported went up by 119 offences. This should be read in conjunction with the decrease in the number of reported thefts, which were down by 77 and may be partly as a result of a change in recording practice.

29. Whilst there was an increase in reported crime, arrests were also up considerably this year compared to last with a total of 129 as opposed to 70. This represented an increase of 84%. The majority of this increase, 43 out of 59, (73%) was as the result of additional arrests for the offences of robbery, assault, public order and offensive weapon.

30. This year also saw an increase, 63 to 94, on last year in the number of casualties taken to hospital. This year’s figure can be broken down into two categories - serious and minor with each subdivided into three; accident, assault and illness.

B. Recommendations

Given the Mayor’s intentions for a review of Carnival no recommendations are made at this stage. The usual post event debriefing is taking place and any specific recommendations should follow their conclusion.

C. Publicly expressed concerns

The three primary issues raised are:

1. That Carnival 2000 was the scene of extreme and unacceptable levels of crime and violence (including two murders and eleven stabbings), and unacceptable disruption to the life of the local community. There were also suggestions that the MPS had ‘massaged’, ‘underplayed’ or held back crime figures.

2. That police either were not able to control this; or had a deliberate policy of not intervening in an attempt to control it, which was set at senior level and handed down as an instruction not to make arrests.

3. That this policy was driven by misguided ‘political correctness’, giving excessive licence to disorderly behaviour at the event because of its minority ethnic character.

We can at this stage give outline answers to these criticisms.

Levels of crime

Whilst the occurrence of two murders and other violent crimes is absolutely unacceptable, the totality of crime needs to be seen in the context of an event attracting more than 1.5 million people, the vast majority of whom enjoyed the occasion.

We unconditionally reject allegations that crime figures have been manipulated. Providing reliable and meaningful statistics while the event is still in progress is a massive challenge, but we put a great deal of effort, experience and technology into doing so. The process was totally transparent, and ‘counting rules’ were set with complete integrity. It was right to set geographic and time boundaries to what was included as ‘Carnival crime’ both to ensure comparability with previous years, and following the logic that the area outside Carnival has its own level of crime at other times.

The level of reported crime was certainly an increase on recent years, though it used to be higher before 1996. We are doing analysis to identify important patterns that may assist crime reduction strategies next year, including :

• Type of property stolen. Has a change in profile of people attending meant an increase in the carrying of easy targets for ‘snatch’ theft such as mobile phones, expensive watches or handbags?
• Profile of crime over time. To what extent is crime concentrated on the Monday evening, such that an earlier dispersal could substantially reduce it?

Policy of ‘non-arrest’/non-intervention

Making safe arrests of armed or violent people, whether individuals or in gangs, in the middle of a crowd presents severe tactical challenges which must be expertly handled. It would be totally irresponsible for the police operation to rely on, or encourage, unilateral action by officers in the densely crowded areas of Carnival. The authorities and public expect a professional, co-ordinated police response, carried out in a quick and controlled manner that minimises the risks to public safety. There was unequivocally no blanket direction to officers not to make arrests. The briefing document quoted by the Daily Mail (5th September on page 6) gave sound guidance: making public safety the top priority in policing large crowds has been standard MPS guidance for many years. The briefing document also included guidance recognising the need for individual officers to arrest offenders. However, the newspaper selectively misrepresented the briefing material by omitting references to the officers’ role in preventing and detecting crime.

There was a clear policy of when and how arrests should be made - using CCTV, Territorial Support Group, and a clearly thought-out plan. Advice was given to consider the consequences of arresting in the circumstances confronted, and to consider the option of arresting later. There are a number of facts that show there was clearly no policy of non intervention;

• The number of arrests made over the course of the event (an 84% increase on 1999), including offences of robbery, burglary, and possession of firearms.
• The various provisions made in advance for handling prisoners, such as the detailed instruction given at briefing on the procedure for seizing and bagging drugs, and the provision of a police van on Sector 2 as a temporary holding-centre for prisoners before transfer to the charging-centre.
• The intervention to shut down the Radio 1 sound-stage on safety grounds at 5.30pm on Monday, when numbers in the enclosure exceeded safe levels.

However, police commanders at Carnival have for many years been very concerned about the difficulty of moving police resources around Carnival area, because of the extreme density of the crowd in places. It can take a long time to move new officers in. It is partly because of this immobility that so many officers are required, distributed throughout from the outset. Even so crime could take place within 10 metres of a group of officers, and they would be completely unaware of it. This crowd density, together with noise levels and the capacity of radio and phone systems, also makes command and communication very challenging. Senior officers may need physically to go to a location before they feel sufficiently well informed to make a tactical decision, which can further slow decision-making.

Political correctness

The tactics deployed on this occasion have been routinely used by the MPS for many years at events where there are large crowds. Public safety has to be the priority. This does not preclude intervention but provides the framework within which it takes place. Political correctness played no part in decision-making.

D. Financial implications

The policing costs for Notting Hill Carnival in 2000 are estimated at £3 million. (This compares with NCT’s budget of £½ m). This includes;

• The pay of all officers and civil staff on duty at Carnival, both at normal rates and enhanced rates for overtime or bank holiday. These are given at ‘cost’, i.e. not the rates we charge for officers on Special Services agreements, nor ‘ready reckoner’ rates (which make allowances for overheads like training and personal equipment).
• The staff costs of Carnival Office team at Westminster, who are engaged full-time all year round on planning for the event.
• Support service costs, e.g. barrier hire, catering for ‘operational feeding’.

This is a considerable reduction in real terms from past costs. In 1989 (when Carnival policing costs probably reached their peak) the cost was estimated at £3½ million. The reduction has been achieved by a gradual fall in the number of officers used (around 13,000 officers in 1989) and in the average length of shift worked by each.

E. Review arrangements

Comprehensive debriefing, at all levels of the policing operation, is an integral part of the cycle of planning for Carnival. Written feedback reports in note form are submitted by supervisors immediately at the end of the event, and collated by the planning team in the following weeks. Structured debrief meetings among the command and planning teams are also held in the ensuing weeks.

Views are also shared between agencies after the event. Police have an active dialogue with the Notting Hill Carnival Trust, the organisers of the event, and the local authorities involved.

Crime reported is analysed in two ways; first, for criminal investigation, to gather evidence and mount prosecutions; new video footage, which will assist investigations, continues to come in, volunteered to police by local people, businesses and public bodies. Second, statistical analysis to provide management information to help develop the strategy and tactics for future events.

These arrangements must be given the time and care they require; the urge to respond quickly to public and media concern can militate against this. Because of the events of this year, the main debrief, with the full command team, has been brought forward, from October to September 18th.

The comments in section C of this paper, on causes for concern at this year’s Carnival; what was different from previous years; strategic and tactical choices; and lessons to be learned, are made without the full benefit of this debriefing process. They must therefore be understood as provisional.

There have been discussions since the event between MPS senior officers and representatives of the MPA / GLA and Mayor of London; which may lead to a formal review of Carnival. Areas which seem particularly important to review, and which may yield changes to the event and the policing which give a good chance of improving public safety and reducing crime and disorder, include:

• The suitability of the venue for such numbers, in terms of the street geography and transport infrastructure,
• Whether the number of floats should be reduced. (They were increased this year by the need to generate sponsorship to fund NCT),
• Close-down times for sound-systems, particularly those on floats rather than static,
• The number of stewards realistically required for effective crowd management on behalf of the organisers, and the financial implications of this for NCT’s funding.

F. Background papers

The following is a statutory list of background papers (under the Local Government Act 1972 S.100 D) which disclose facts or matters on which the report is based and which have been relied on to a material extent in preparing this report. They are available on request to either the contact officer listed above or to the Clerk to the Police Authority at the address indicated on the agenda.

Appendices:

1. Multi-agency Statement of Intent & Codes of Practice
2. History of Carnival
3. Statistics for Carnival 2000
4. Map of Carnival Area

G. Contact details

The author of this report is Chief Superintendent Steve French, commander of the Public Order OCU (CO11 - 13).

For information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 2: History of Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival began in 1965 as the Notting Hill Festival, a small street festival with a number of steel bands. In the early years it lacked a degree of organisation and proper structure however this did not prevent it from attracting a growing number of spectators with some 150,000 attending on the bank holiday Monday in 1974.

By 1975 it was clear that the numbers attending the event had grown to such an extent that they overwhelmed those responsible for its organisation. As a result concerns were raised by some as to the future direction of the carnival and increasing levels of crime.

Unfortunately 1976 saw serious outbreaks of public disorder with injuries to a large number of police and public alike. However it did in the aftermath precipitate some action on the part of the organisers. Coupled with improved policing tactics an uneasy balance between crime and carnival was established.

However by 1987 with the numbers attending nearing a million and the problem of crime ever present in the carnival area it was clear that some action on the part of police had to be taken. Under Operation Trident a large number of arrests were made prior to the event. Unfortunately this did not stop and may have precipitated serious disturbances breaking out during the Monday of that year’s carnival.

However the events of 1987 brought discussions as to the future of the carnival into the public domain. This resulted in the introduction of a set of guiding principles whilst identifying the need for more control over the event as well as an increase in public safety. Although a step in the right direction this did not resolve all of the underlying difficulties. That said the 1988 carnival proved to be the most successful to date with a reduction in crime and injuries.

Following the 1988 event financial irregularities came to light eventually culminating in the creation of a new carnival committee headed by Ms Claire Holder. Although there was some disorder at 1989’s carnival the relationship between police and the new organising committee began to improve with agreement reached at early stage on such issues as route, entry / exit points and locations for live stages. However as with previous committees funding continued to be a major difficulty.

With reduced funds the carnival organisers were forced to make cuts including the number of stewards available. Despite this 1990 and 1991 proved to be successful events although the latter was marred by a murder. The failure of some sound systems to close down promptly was perceived as a problem in those years.

Carnival 1992 saw reduced numbers as a result of inclement weather with late finishing floats and a reduction in stewards as the major issues. However a police arrest team was attacked as well as several separate stabbing incidents. That year also saw a marked increase in the level of casualties.

In 1993 crowds exceeded one million in total again with limited numbers of stewards in attendance. Late finishing by some floats and severe overcrowding at various locations proved to be the major issues. The overall level of crime continued to rise on previous years with a worrying increase in the level of violence on the Monday night. This was reflected in a corresponding increase in the number of casualties (70 in total).

Present at the 1993 carnival were R&M Consultants who produced a comprehensive report on crowd safety at the event. This set in motion a police review, which included a seminar with all interested parties. This process helped create the close links that now exist between those parties sowing the seeds for the Statement of Intent and Code of Practice that now exist.

Since 1993 carnival has continued to grow year on year with crowds now in excess of one million and probably nearer two million. The overall level of crime fluctuates but with the increasing numbers has shown a steady rise.

Appendix 3: Notting Hill Carnival 2000

This document contains numerical data in relation to:

• Police Staffing levels
• Casualties taken to hospital
• Reported Crime (Details of crimes reported during the event)
• Arrests (Details of arrests made during the event)

Details are also provided of comparative data from the previous two carnivals.

Staffing levels

Casualties taken to hospital (Carnival 2000)

Hospital casualties

Reported crime

Crime Reported at the Carnival - Sunday & Monday

Arrests

Arrests from the Carnival - Sunday & Monday

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