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A survey by the Metropolitan Police Federation has found that the majority of police officers feel unsafe working at the annual Notting Hill Carnival in London. Within the survey, officers who have worked at the event within the past decade described it as a “warzone” and “hell”. There were over 350 cases of sexual or violent offences reported within August’s carnival, including the fatal stabbing of Cher Maximen. The organisers of the event have responded to the survey’s findings, stating that the results have an “anti-carnival agenda” and that it is not representative of the views held by the majority of officers working at the event.
Within the survey, 89% of the 486 officers stated that they did not feel safe. Of these, 29% reported having been assaulted while policing the event. The Police Federation, the representative body for rank and file officers, have argued that the results were intended to provide “concrete evidence” of the experiences of those working at the event.
The Notting Hill Carnival has traditionally celebrated Caribbean culture for over 50 years and takes place over a route extending over three-and-a-half miles through north Kensington. Simon Hill, deputy general secretary of the Metropolitan Police Federation expressed surprise at the results of the survey. He commented that “the candour from the officers and some of their descriptions of how they felt at the carnival and their experiences of being assaulted, quite frankly were shocking”.
The Metropolitan Police’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward revealed that many of the concerns aired within the survey were longstanding and that the force was concerned by the “unacceptable levels of crime” associated with the event
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