The sights and sounds of the Notting
Hill Carnival have always been about
bringing people together, but how you
keep safe the 2 million that come here
is divisive in itself.
Campaigners particularly objecting to
the use of facial recognition cameras
this time around, but after two murders
here last year, police argue it's
needed.
>> This is about protecting the public from
um you know, people who are coming to
Carnival who pose a risk to public
safety. Um, we absolutely hear the
concerns, but for live facial
recognition, it's been tested. Um, and
we do not feel there's any bias or
discrimination in its use. Um, so we'll
continue to use it.
>> It is the biggest policing event that
the Met Police carries out each year. At
their special operations room, they're
processing what's being fed in from
those on foot. Intelligenceled
interventions in the runup have placed
either police bail or probation license
conditions on over 200 people not to
come to Carnival.
While crime lays on the shoulders of
police, managing crowds is down to
organizers who had a last minute
scramble just a few weeks ago to find a
million pounds worth of extra funding to
provide extra safety and infrastructure
measures.
>> The message we put over matches what the
stewards are saying might be a message
that's needed in the area. So
>> from signs to steer people away to
improved means of talking to those out
on the sound systems. What we agreed
with the police was that we needed the
we needed the police to stand back. So
they focused on their primary
responsibility was crime and we would
step up and take responsibility for the
event and the crowding. Now to do that
we had to have extra resources on that
we could compensate for some of the
things that police were previously
doing.
>> Staging such a big event on ordinary
streets is challenging. From its 60s
roots in resistance against racism, the
carnival has snowballed in size. The
challenge for organizers is how you
attempt to control and manage something
that is all about at its heart
representing freedom.
>> As for those who suggest that what
happens here could be better supervised
in an area like Hyde Park.
>> It's a convenient way to box off black
people as usual. So no it shouldn't be
moved to Hide Park.
>> Why would you? Why would you? This is
about us recognizing each other and
seeing on two days
how much we have in common.
>> True celebration of soaker, different
cultures, different music, people coming
together and young and old mixing. So
it's really important.
While it is often crime that sadly makes
headlines here, there are many who feel
the reasons behind the Notting Hill
Carnival are as important to mark today
as they ever were. Katie Spencer, Sky
News.