Matthew Steeples suggests the Notting Hill Carnival is an unnecessary drain on already overstretched resources
Many will suggest I am wrong to say it, but I truly believe the Notting Hill Carnival is something that causes more trouble than it is worth.
With 300 arrests and 190 knives and 18 firearms supposedly recovered already prior to the event even commencing, this is plainly an occasion that is taking up too much police time. Of it, an officer I currently dealing with regarding another matter told me Tuesday: “We cannot do other work until after the carnival is over.”
Last year, according to The Guardian, 9,000 officers were drafted in to police this event and given locals are forced to board up their houses also, one must question whether this gathering contributes to the community or detracts from it. Past suggestions to relocate the event to Hyde Park have been angrily rejected by enthusiasts but maybe, as Britain teeters on the edge of another age of austerity, it is time to again consider that. The Notting Hill Carnival, in my humble opinion, is a nuisance and I, for one, will most definitely not be attending.