Millions loved the Notting Hill carnival but we need less crime. As an ex-cop, I have ideas to make it better

Every year as Notting Hill carnival (NHC) winds down, naysayers demand the event be banned. This year is no different. Carnival is viewed through a prism of crime in a way that no other large festival or major sporting event is. Is it because a very large gathering of black people is automatically seen as a potential crime hotspot? This view is unfortunately held not just by some sections of the public and media, but also by police officers at all ranks involved in policing it.
In my 30 years in the Metropolitan police, I have carried out a number of roles associated with the policing of NHC. I have observed that officers often view it as a yearly event that is imposed on the capital. It’s not viewed with national pride, similar to something like policing England playing at Wembley – even though such matches often involve violent incidents, and police being assaulted. Also, I have never known a government minister or member of the royal family attend NHC in their official capacity, as they would with a national football game.
This association with crime, the lack of national pride and the feeling that carnival is an imposition influence public perceptions. At the same time, policing plans for the event appear to have a very strong enforcement approach, which often comes at the expense of community engagement.
I remember attending carnival in the early 70s as a youngster, where I would see officers engaging with communities. However, after an uprising in 1976, the look and feel of policing underwent a significant shift that led to a distancing between the police and the public. After that, policing was typified by heavy duty fencing, larger police numbers and stricter curfews (some years it has been as early as 7pm).
Because the number of crimes committed has remained stubbornly high over the decades – eight stabbings this year, 349 arrests and 61 incidents where officers were assaulted – police argue for a tougher approach.
I can see why. However I would suggest this can create a “them and us” scenario, where the carnival revellers feel police are unduly imposing themselves and stifling the carnival atmosphere. This not only reduces trust in police but can also discourage people from giving critical information regarding a specific incident or background intelligence on criminal activity. Unfortunately, this same misjudgment in how black and minority ethnic communities are policed is played out across the capital all year. Carnival is a microcosm of the Met’s flaws.
Another part of the problem is the small area in which the carnival is held. Compared with European festivals of a similar size, the festival is held in a particularly dense section of the city, and so gangs are attracted to NHC to commit crimes and/or settle feuds before disappearing into the crowd. Consideration should be given to changing the location to Hyde Park, or somewhere that is more open, to assist in policing it more effectively.
There is a compelling backstory behind NHC and how it emerged from the Caribbean community’s pain. The racist discrimination reached a climax with the 1959 murder of Kelso Cochrane – a member of the Windrush generation from Antigua – following ongoing tension between black people and sections of the white community, some of them known as teddy boys. This tension was exacerbated by the racist policing many from the community experienced on a day-to-day basis. The response came in the form of arts and street processions pioneered by legendary Caribbean figures, including the human rights activist Claudia Jones. Over the decades, the appeal has widened beyond the Caribbean community to include African, Asian and other ethnic minorities, in addition to the initial allyship of white Londoners.
This joyful celebration of the diaspora experience is why, despite the sense of feeling overpoliced, or the risk of being a victim of crime, millions of people attend the carnival every year. But I still believe, with a better approach to policing, that it could be considerably more peaceful.
This is my advice. We need a proactive policing by each of the borough command units across London, and it shouldn’t be left to central operations to work solely with carnival stakeholders. Preparation for carnival should start ahead of time, not only around the operational logistics, but also focused on how prevention and early intervention tactics can be used to ensure people who are vulnerable to being sucked into gangs are prevented from doing so. These people can be persuaded to attend carnival in a positive way, with the assistance of charity sectors in their local area. The strategy can’t be just more boots on the ground, greater enforcement powers and enhanced use of technology. There needs to be a longer term partnership approach across the Met in preparation for NHC.
Even as a police officer now in retirement I attend carnival with my family because I still identify with the Windrush story; of how pain was turned into power, and that has now grown into the largest carnival in Europe. It’s a UK success story. I hope a few more of the naysayers experience it, before hastily jumping on the bandwagon of criticism!