Notting Hill Carnival recorded 423 arrests over two days, with 223 on Monday and 200 on Sunday. Two stabbings occurred but did not lead to serious injury. Last year, eight people were stabbed, with one fatality during the event and another person killed in a separate attack. The most common offences this year were cannabis possession (70), possession of an offensive weapon (46), and drug supply (44); police also recorded 18 sexual offences and five robberies. Police said 52 arrests resulted from live facial recognition identifications, while civil liberty and anti-racism groups criticised LFR for mass surveillance and potential accuracy biases.
Met Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said the use of live facial recognition, metal detector and stop-and-search had "prevented some of the serious violence we have seen at previous carnivals". There were 223 arrests on Monday, the day of the adult parade, and 200 on Sunday. The most common was for cannabis possession (70), possession of an offensive weapon (46), and drug supply (44).
In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, 11 organisations described LFR as "a mass surveillance tool that treats all Carnival-goers as potential suspects and has no place at one of London's biggest cultural celebrations". They also said the decision to reintroduce the technology at Carnival was "deeply disappointing" and argued it could be "less accurate for women and people of colour".
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