Notting Hill Carnival susceptible to ‘mass casualty event’ resulting from crowd management issues | EUROtoday

Attendees at Notting Hill Carnival are susceptible to being caught up in a probably deadly crowd crush, a brand new report has warned

The August Bank Holiday occasion sees about two million folks flock to the streets of west London.

But the Metropolitan Police has raised considerations about the opportunity of a “mass casualty event” on the celebration, after officers reported cases of harmful crowd density final 12 months.

The power’s warning shaped a part of a report by the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, targeted on occasions that want public order policing similar to soccer matches, protests and carnival.

It discovered there was an elevated demand “putting the Met under strain” which has not been matched with in central authorities funding.

open picture in gallery

The organiser of the Carnival, Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, is accountable for offering stewarding for the occasion, and for making certain crowd security.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist instructed the committee that at Carnival, the Met has duty for “prevention and detection of crime, for keeping the King’s peace and, if necessary, for saving life.”

He highlighted that crowd density was “probably the most concerning element” of the occasion that he “most worried about”.

“Over the course of Notting Hill Carnival weekend, we had 100 spontaneous crowd incidents which were monitored through the joint cell,” he mentioned.

“In addition to the frequent monitoring of nine key locations that we know are challenging and reporting across all five of the MPS sectors, we did have to step in a number of times in order to reduce the crowd density in order to save life.’

He also recalled an incident where members of the public were being hoisted up on scaffolding to get out of a “really dangerous level of crowd density.”

He added: “While we acknowledge the crime often gets the headlines, the thing that worries me most is the crowd density and the potential for a mass casualty event.”

open picture in gallery

At final 12 months’s occasion Cher Maximen, 32, was fatally stabbed in entrance of her younger daughter on “Family Day”.

In one other incident, Mussie Imnetu, 41, a Dubai-based chef, was overwhelmed throughout an altercation after carnival.

Both died of their accidents in hospital and two males have been convicted of their murders. There have been additionally eight non-fatal stabbings reported.

The London Assembly has really useful that Sir Sadiq Khan evaluations the considerations about crowd security on the carnival to tell stewarding necessities.

The report states that this could embody a full overview of pinch factors and strict steerage for the variety of stewards required throughout the carnival. It provides that the discovering needs to be made public no less than three months prematurely of Carnival 2026.

open picture in gallery

A spokesperson for the Mayor mentioned: “Notting Hill Carnival burst on to the streets of west London nearly six decades ago and since then, the community-led celebration of Caribbean history and culture has grown to become one of the world’s biggest street festivals and part of the very fabric of our city.

“An independent review is already underway commissioned by the Carnival Organising Committee, with support from City Hall, Met police, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council to ensure Carnival is as safe and enjoyable as possible.”

A spokesperson from Notting Hill Carnival Ltd mentioned: “We were pleased that our partners agreed that an independent review is undertaken regarding the safety and security of Carnival.

“The first stage of this report has been delivered and is being reviewed by our organising partners.”

A Met Police spokesperson mentioned: “The Committee’s report acknowledges the unique public order policing demand placed on the Met given the number of events and protests taking place in London.

“Notting Hill Carnival is a key event on London’s cultural calendar and one which requires the deployment of a very significant number of officers and wider police resources.

“All those involved in delivering and supporting Carnival are committed to ensuring it is as safe and secure as possible. We welcomed the recent commissioning of an independent review and alongside our partners we are considering its initial recommendations.”