Eyewitness: Underneath the arches – reflections on this year’s Carnival

Chris Hobbs attends the Notting Hill Carnival and witnesses tireless work by Met medics to respond to incidents.

Crowds following the articulated truck complete with a powerful sound system were densely packed and stretched across both the road and footway. They were headed in my direction and I was about to move out of their way when four police paramedics appeared on the opposite side of the road. They were clearly responding to an emergency as they crossed in front of the truck. Using public order techniques they then forced their way through the densely packed crowd that seemed to appreciate the urgency of their mission.

I moved to follow but quickly realised that this was simply not an option. This, inevitably, was far from being an isolated incident in terms of those becoming unwell or sustaining injury and requiring help.

Another incident viewed by me involved a collapsed teenager being carried on a blanket stretcher by anxious officers and attended by police paramedics.

These were just two of several incidents that I witnessed where officers were rendering compassionate medical attention and these were unquestionably replicated on numerous occasions across the Carnival footprint.

The aftermath of young man collapsing at Carnival was commented on by the hugely respected Pastor Lorraine, known for her outstanding community work in South London. She posted the following after she viewed a male becoming unwell; “The amount of police that rushed to help this young man was heart-warming! Thank you.” She then further commented on the incident directly from the scene via ‘X’.

Another incident I witnessed involved a male with mental health and speech issues who complained bitterly to police that he had been deliberately barged into by a young man. It was a very mild-mannered young man who had, in fact, originally sought the assistance of officers; those officers responded with tact and good humour and dealt with the incident to the satisfaction of both parties.

Rendering such assistance is a feature of policing this event and should subsequently be given greater prominence by Met Comms and the Met’s Commanders. The relevant forms however need to be collated amidst the plethora of carnival paperwork but should be available in a few days.

Social media and police denigration 

It was interesting to see that detractors were again using social media to denigrate police. Posts showed the dancing police officer who had become an internet sensation nine years ago; however, these posts suggested his performances were current.

As an aside, the officer went on to appear on Britain’s Got Talent,’ whilst the viral You Tube footage resulted in numerous complementary comments. The Met have long since banned its officers from ‘dancing.’

Another post showed a police officer on a flat-back truck allegedly participating in the fun. Closer examination showed that this footage was from the J’ouvert event which takes place from 6AM to 9AM on the Monday and involves throwing coloured powder and paint. The officer was clearly dealing with an issue and traces of powder could be seen on his white shirt.

So called ‘knife arches’ are a prominent feature of Carnival and a derogatory post allegedly showed them unattended with members of the public walking through them. In fact, it’s quite possible to film ‘unattended’ arches even when police are in close proximity; how do I know? Because I filmed precisely that.

Arches and arrests 

Viewing stops and searches by the arches would be an education for those critical of the Section 60 power. In fact, many of those interactions I witnessed were carried out with smiles and banter on both sides. I saw no animosity from members of the public who were walking past those being searched; no abuse and no criticism.

Arrests were made and those arrested duly escorted away to prisoner transport parked on the side roads. Again, I didn’t witness any objections from the passing public. There was, posted on social media, footage that showed hostile shouts from revellers as a prisoner was escorted along what looked like the Portobello Road but every arrest I witnessed, both at the arches and elsewhere, attracted curiosity but no hostility; this was the case even when individuals arrested were taken to the ground.

Across the history of Carnival, disorder has often broken out as darkness falls and, accordingly, with the added motivation of the televised Aston Villa versus Arsenal match, I left as stewards were bringing events to a close. In previous years however, disorder has been minimal however as darkness descended, footage emerged of serials of officers fully ‘kitted’ running through the streets presumably to attend a reported incident. There were no reports of significant disorder however.

Post carnival statistics

Whilst no overall crime figures for Carnival have yet been produced there were two knife assaults on Saturday and two on Sunday; in 2025 there were also four. A great deal of effort has gone into knife crime prevention after the two fatal stabbings that occurred amongst the eight knife crime assaults of 2024.

Even allowing for the huge numbers, estimated at two million across the weekend, fifty-five assaults on police officers are fifty-five too many and two of these resulted in hospital treatment for a bite and a broken nose. In total, 636 persons were arrested over the weekend which should limit the cries of ‘two-tier policing,’ at least for a few days.

Nevertheless, as viewed by me and as in previous years, relations between revellers and police at this world-famous Caribbean festival were overwhelmingly excellent which must be an anathema for certain activist groups on both sides of political spectrum.

Sir Mark Rowley visited Carnival on Monday and he will, almost certainly, praise the efforts of his officers and police staff who worked so hard across the weekend. He spent some time with the Facial Recognition Unit and will have been delighted with the final total of 214 alerts; 121 arrests and 86 registered sex offenders effectively ‘having their cards marked’ with seven being arrested.

A tragic event

There was, however, a tragedy that cast a cloud over the policing operation when a male being pursued by officers attempted to evade capture by entering a canal. Officers and members of the public went into the water and retrieved the individual but attempts to revive him sadly failed.

Full details will doubtless emerge after an IOPC investigation and inquest.

A question of finance

Those of us who remember policing Carnival in days of yore, will recall steaming gangs running through crowds, rival gangs violently clashing and as darkness fell, extreme levels of violence directed against police who would have to protect themselves with shields.

Policing tactics have evolved over the years yet policing Carnival still presents huge challenges including to the Met’s finances. There will be those who will argue that the four million pounds additional funding authorised by the Mayor, would have been better spent on reducing the damage caused to the Met by ongoing cutbacks.

An AI request produced the following; “The cost of policing the Notting Hill Carnival has reached between £13.5 million and £16 million annually, with recent reports around the August 2026 event estimating operational costs escalating toward £20 million.”

Personally, I still feel that Carnival is an accident waiting to happen; panic amongst the densely packed crowds would be disastrous and well beyond the scope of many stewards who appeared to be both youthful and inexperienced. There were merits in stewards taking over certain responsibilities of officers and indeed I didn’t see any police liaison officers accompanying the mobile sound systems.

A move to open spaces however, would be fiercely resisted by the organisers and indeed could present its own challenges. On the positive side, as stated above, and doubtless much to the chagrin of those on both the extreme right and left, relations between the overwhelming majority of those attending Carnival and officers are excellent. That can only have benefits in terms of policing across London.

Meanwhile those anticipating media praise to be heaped upon the heads of the Met, BTP and City of London officers plus staff, who policed Carnival, may have a long wait.

Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows public order events as an observer for Police Oracle.

Category: Public Order