I went on Sunday, it was funny, though I can’t help but think that this amount of freedom is not for everyone.
Cops on a ready but not annoying, it was my first time and I might go back next year.
We started early to avoid the crowds, and I was relieved we left as soon as the music stopped considering the dodgy looking people hanging around, let’s just say that after moving out the East End I did not expect to see so many gang members in one place 🙂

A couple of pics for the road :
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Don’t get me wrong, I can’t really say I usually side with the police, but when I was on the wrong side of the law I still was not a danger to society and people’s safety. Gangs are a different matter when dealing with people who haven’t got much to lose and a lot to gain from violent behaviour.
I must say though that I didn’t see any fights, but again there were cops almost everywhere.

If it’d been a teknival I’d have been super pissed to see them, but street parties, at least in France, have a knack of attracting all sorts of not very nice people. I went to the tekno parade in Paris years ago and was attacked by a group of youngsters who tried to mug me (luckily they chose to do that right under the nose of the police who were taking a coffee break very close)

I don’t want to blame a specific music or crowd, my point is that that kind of event is very difficult to regulate without imposing an iron hand of surveillance.
I, for myself, was keeping my eyes opened to watch out for my wife, since a couple of blokes probably thought it was free for all…

Still met nice people and had good drunken chats here and there.

Oh, and I hope that snack who charged a quid to use the toilets even if you were a customer made bag loads of money !

EDIT TO ADD :
didn’t see your last line but yeah I totally agree, and that’s what really pisses me off when here or in France big events causing lots of trouble are held, and then when the same trouble “argument” is used for a small party in the woods where nothing happened.

People who try hard to look like they belong to a gang ?
Nah seriously it was more meant as a joke than anything, I wouldn’t want people to think I was pinpointing anyone specific.

There were cops at every crossroads (the visible ones).
The debate on the relevancy of CCTV and surveillance is probably a little to wide to be discussed on this specific subject, unless we end up off topic ^^

I must say that sunday was supposed to be kids’ day, which is why we chose to go on that specific day.
I hadn’t been to an event this size since I was a youngster and at the times we were the scary ones in a way, so obviously we were not worried. But now I have much more to lose in getting involved in senseless violence so I try to avoid it as much as possible.

Also, seeing people pushing their kids in prams in a crowd where the poor children are at knee level, ready to breathe all the crap in the air the adults are safer from, or toddlers being danced around in front of a sound whose bass even I felt like almost uncomfortable made my skin cringe (dogs and babies should NEVER be exposed to these levels without protection at least…)
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(am I the only one to think Skeksis ? http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101121155357/poohadventures/images/thumb/5/53/SkekSil_and_SkekUng.jpg/254px-SkekSil_and_SkekUng.jpg )

@lauteque 492966 wrote:

There were cops at every crossroads (the visible ones).
The debate on the relevancy of CCTV and surveillance is probably a little to wide to be discussed on this specific subject, unless we end up off topic ^^

There is a whole unit of Scotland Yard devoted to studying CCTV footage to monitor gangs as part of Operation Trident.

I understand that you come from a country where there is a culture of sometimes being over optimistic hiding bad news (I read French newspapers and they don’t even have a crime news section!!!) and that especially in recent years I’ve developed a much more “Northern European” attitude to things and I’ve always had a personal interest in surveillance and counter surveillance (the “liberal” Northern European countries actually have a lot of surveillance too) but my experience of growing up in England is that CCTV and surveillance is what keeps this country from going up in flames without sacrificing our multicultural society or some free speech or having to put thousands of cops with guns on the street – for instance in my large town cops with guns have to be called up specially.

in this case the CCTV is used to identify and remove people before they cause trouble at the carnival and as such it has worked. UK cops have had over 40 years to practise these techniques due to football hooligans and fights between racial groups (the first CCTV in London was put in during the 1960s).

Fair enough, I just wanted to clarify this to avoid having to defend a point of view that’s not mine.

And that “gang” problem is the same in France, they usually wait until everyone’s wasted to to their thing.
(btw I’m dual national French/British)

180 people were arrested by metpol for cycling in the wrong place in London during the olympics – this was in some ways a bit much as they were mostly non violent hippies but they were warned about it – these 299 were arrested for much nastier plans.

it would be over and above the incident count for a similar Bank holiday weekend in London without the carnival. It might not be a lot but was only achieved with the help of the 7 000 metpol officers as well as other civillian staff in GT (CCTV operations centre) and other public sector workers, all paid for by London’s taxpayers. it is not because London is a nice, friendly multicultural place without those coppers and surveillance to nanny people (same as any other English town but on a larger scale).

its good it went well but and its a credit to London they managed it especially with a Conservative Government in power and after riots the previous year (in fact that the 2011 events were not banned as a punishment is also a credit to Britain)

That has still been achieved at the expense of actual blood spilt in previous years. Much of this happened before your were born and some of it even before I was born when the event first started but that shouldn’t be forgotten nor swept under the carpet – nor should risks to the event from modern gang culture.

Notting Hill Carnival – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

its claimed to bring in a lot of money to London (similarly to the Olympics) but in reality a lot of English born Londoners (as opposed to recent economic migrants) are bitterly divided about its social benefits. I think with both a lot of the perceived profits are as ropey as the big banks figures anyway..

That said a lot of the original cockneys buggered off to the suburbs 30 years ago (selling their houses to the RBS execs and accountants from Malaysia and other incomers) anyway when the capital got “too multicultural” because metpol actually caved in and let the multicultural groups have what was then a illegal event. Some of the are the sort what spent the weekend calling 999 when they saw a ginger tomcat :laugh_at: