Notting Hill Carnival 2002

Report: 11
Date: 26 September 2002
By: Commissioner

Summary

This report provides information on the outcome of this year's Notting Hill Carnival. It focuses on issues already raised by the MPA.Planning for next year’s event will shortly be underway and Members are asked to note the proposed way forward.

A. Recommendation

Members are asked to note the contents of the report and provide comment on MPA involvement in future Notting Hill Carnivals.

B. Supporting information

Outcome of 2002 event

1. This year’s Notting Hill Carnival has generally been regarded as a successful event with no major incidents or significant crime issues. This year’s event has developed a number of the benefits, which were put into place in 2001. The following summarises the key outcomes and the factors, which were critical in delivering this success.

2. There were 158 arrests at this year's Carnival, an increase of 50%. The increase is attributable to the intelligence led approach to the event, and a clear and widely understood arrest policy.

3. Robberies showed a reduction of 69%, down from 29 to only 9 offences this year. There were a total of around 350 crimes reported this year which is a similar number to previous years.

4. It was felt that the overall numbers of people attending Carnival were slightly down with around 850,000 attending on the Monday. The revised route realised a number of hoped for benefits, with less pressure on Westbourne Park Station and an easier dispersal from the eastern side of Carnival.

5. Disappointingly, over 150 vehicles were allowed onto the route as a result of a failure in operational control by Notting Hill Carnival Trust (NHCT). This inevitably caused congestion on the route particularly on the Monday. NHCT closed the judging point at 9pm on the Monday and whilst there were still a large number of floats on the route this assisted with an effective close down by around 11pm.

Critical success factors

6. Partnership – as has been previously reported, there was an excellent spirit of co-operation between all the partners and the NHCT. This was reflected throughout the weekend and enabled good dialogue between all agencies which resolved a number of minor issues. This high level of co-operation provides a good basis on which to seek further improvements.

7. Intelligence Led Policing – an intelligence unit operated for around three months prior to Carnival. This unit worked closely with Safer Streets and Operation Trident and built on the work of last year. This approach was undoubtedly successful in providing a peaceful Carnival and achieving a reduction in the number of robberies. Specifically the intelligence unit achieved the following:

• the personal delivery of 100 letters to targets identified as intending to come to the Carnival to cause trouble.
• visits to 35 people on bail from Safer Streets operations to ensure they were complying with their bail conditions. 31 were found to be complying and a further 4 were arrested.
• 13 arrests prior to the event relating to a variety of offences including the recovery of 48 wraps of crack cocaine.
• a number of overt firearms operations were run away from Carnival during the weekend resulting in a further arrest for possession of drugs.

8. Band Serials – building on last years work over 200 officers were deployed to work with the bands on the route (known as “Band Serials”). This enabled good liaison or communication between the MPS and the organisers and assisted in delivering a reasonable close down time.

9. Illegal Street Trading – working with local authority partners the MPS again took a firm line on illegal street trading, particularly focussing on illegal sales of alcohol. This built on the success of last year and has had a significant impact on the overall atmosphere of Carnival.

10. New Route – the horseshoe route moving from east to west provided a number of benefits. The marshalling area in Elkstone Road provided a good way of organising the floats. Concluding the route in Ladbroke Grove assisted in dispersal as the majority of base camps are to the west of Ladbroke Grove. The route assisted dispersal from the east side particularly on the Sunday evening when there were less floats. London Underground felt that the crowds used a wider number of tube stations thus reducing pressure on Westbourne Park tube station. Further, the new location of the judging point on Great Western Road appeared to reduce the pedestrian pressure at the southern end of Carnival. However, the large number of vehicles meant that not all the benefits were realised and there will need to be extensive debriefing to evaluate these changes.

11. Stewarding – despite the late arrangements a reasonable stewarding plan was delivered which assisted the policing operation. Clearly, there is still much work to be done in this area.

The way forward

12. Comprehensive debriefing both within the police service and with all partner agencies are currently underway. This will indicate the key issues to be taken forward.

13. Within NHCT there will be elections for the trustees in November of this year. The lack of financial and governance stability within this organisation is likely to continue and this will continue to make radical change unlikely. As has already been stated it also introduces uncertainty into the planning arrangements for the event. 

14. The final GLA review report is anticipated to be published this November.

15. As has already been mentioned the spirit of co-operation which currently exists provides a good platform for delivering a safe and trouble free Carnival for 2003 with reduced police resources.

C. Equality and diversity implications

The success of the Notting Hill Carnival depends very much upon effective partnerships. The MPS is committed to developing partnerships and fostering existing links to ensure a safe and enjoyable Carnival for all.

D. Financial implications

Around 11,000 police staff were employed on this operation over the three days. The estimated cost of this event is around £6,500,000. This includes – the pay of all staff both at normal rates and enhanced rates for overtime or working bank holiday – the costs of the Carnival office planning team and the cost in broad terms of the support services e.g. hiring of barriers, catering etc. Precise costings will be available during October.

As has previously been discussed the resources for this year were at the same level as 2001 which were an increase on 2000. It is anticipated that given the success of the last two years and taking into account all the initiatives that have been undertaken we should be able to reduce resources for next year. Clearly, however, the uncertainty, which often surrounds this event, means that we have to build in contingencies. 

E. Background papers

• None

F. Contact details

Report author: Superintendent Commins, Public Order Branch.

For more information contact:

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

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