London’s multicultural Notting Hill Carnival has returned for the first time since the pandemic, accompanied by the traditional drug crime, sexual assaults, and deadly stabbings it brings in its wake.
While the Metropolitan Police claimed that “Carnival is a great event to police” on August 28th, it ended on a predictably sour note on Monday, with a murder investigation launched after a 21-year-old man, so far unidentified, was stabbed to death in the early evening.
Dr Alison Heydari, Commander of Local Policing, commented that the “atmosphere over the past two days has been largely positive and good natured as Carnival should be” — one might say “mostly peaceful” — before adding that “[r]egrettably, on Monday evening we saw a number of violent incidents and a 21-year-old man has lost his life.”
“Our thoughts are with his family as they come to terms with their terrible loss,” Heydari added.
“A murder investigation is under way, led by homicide detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command.
All told, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it had made 209 arrests over the course of the carnival for the following crimes:
- 36 x possession of drugs
- 5 x criminal damage
- 27 x public order
- 46 x assault
- 8 x sexual assault
- 10 x possession of psychoactive substances
- 33 x possession of an offensive weapon
- 7 x drink/drug driving
- 35 x Other
- 1 x Theft
- 1 x Robbery
This obviously understates the true scale of criminality at the event, however, given it does not include crimes for which no one has yet been arrested — including the aforementioned killing.
At previous carnivals, the Metropolitan Police have reported tens of officers being injured, with it being unclear why they have not disclosed the figure for 2022.
A 14-year-old police horse “loved dearly” by officers died at the event on Sunday, reportedly after collapsing, but the exact cause and circumstances of his death are not yet clear. A post-mortem is being carried out.
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