Notting Hill Carnival Strategic Review - Intelligent Space

true overall value of SJA’s contribution – in terms of volunteer and paid staff, cost of
equipment, vehicles and consumables, as well as what it would cost the NHS to treat these
patients if SJA were unable to provide their current level of service – should be quantified
with a view to making a powerful case for funding.
11. In our interim report, we called for a reduction in the number and size of support vehicles used by
each performance unit on the route in order to improve public safety and minimise crowd
congestion 57 . Insufficient resources and poor event management have meant that no discernible
progress has been made. We believe that professional event management of the Carnival is vital,
not only from a public safety perspective but also to safeguard the event’s artistic quality and
content. We therefore recommend that:
Context
(a) a robust event management and planning framework that makes use of information
technology to share vital information with stakeholders is introduced; and
(b) contracts are introduced in order to ensure that the Carnival participants comply with the
event’s staging and performance protocols. Key obligations would include adherence to
arrival and close-down times; vehicle size and numbers and promotion of the Carnival Code.
2.21 The policing of the Notting Hill Carnival represents the largest single policing operation in
London in any one year with the MPS committing considerable resources, not only to the
bank holiday weekend itself, but also to the Carnival planning process which takes place
throughout the year - policing involvement revolves around a dedicated MPS Carnival office
that is staffed throughout the year with the sole objective of organising and arranging the
police response to the Carnival. This process relies heavily on close links with the main
participants responsible for the event with day-to-day contact maintained between police and
NHCT. A representative from RBKC is also a member of the Carnival office team. Overall,
almost 7,500 officers and 550 civilian staff were deployed for Carnival 2000. This was made
up of the following numbers for each day of the event:
Table 4: MPS Policing numbers at Carnival 2000
Saturday
(26-08-00)
Sunday
(27-08-00)
Monday
(28-08-00)
Total
Police Officers 339 3,09 3,991 7,422
Police Staff 9 267 273 549
Totals 348 3,359 4,264 7,971
2.22 The deployment of manpower was focused so as to meet the demands of the busiest periods
during the Carnival weekend - late afternoon through into the evening of both Sunday and
Monday with particular emphasis on the Monday evening. Comprehensive logistical support
to assist the large numbers of police personnel involved in the event included a multitude of
57
Recommendation 4(a) in ‘Notting Hill Carnival Review: Interim report and public safety profile recommendations for 2001’ (April
2001)
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