Police say Notting Hill Carnival violence 'not as serious as usual" after two stabbings, assaults on 32 officers, 18 sex offences and 423 arrests

POLICE have hailed the Notting Hill Carnival a relatively peaceful event after there were "just two stabbings" an 18 sex offences reported - and before the event has fully concluded.

The latest stats from the Met Police show as of 7:45pm tonight (August 25 2025) there had been a total of 423 arrests over the two days.

The Met says this is down to a proactive policing operation, that saw more than 100 people arrested ahead of the event, and targeting people as they made their way there.

As of 19:45hrs, the number of arrests on Monday was 223, with 177 at Carnival itself and 46 on the approaches to the event.

The updated number of arrests on Sunday was 200, with 149 at Carnival itself and 51 on the approaches to the event.

52 of the total arrests were as a result of identifications using Live Facial Recognition (LFR).

A Met spokesman said: "The event is still in its latter stages and we are not being at all complacent, but we have seen far fewer incidents of serious violence than in recent years.

"There have been two stabbings – one in Powis Terrace and one in Oxford Gardens – neither of which resulted in life threatening injuries."

Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, the policing commander for Notting Hill Carnival this year, said: “This year we have proactively targeted those who have attempted to come to Carnival to cause harm to others.

“We have used live facial recognition, knife arches and our stop and search powers to identify and arrest more than 400 suspects.

“These arrests have prevented some of the serious violence we have seen at previous Carnivals.

“We thank the organisers and others who spoke out in the days and weeks ahead of the event to emphasise what Carnival stands for, to reject violence and to urge anyone planning to come for conflict or confrontation to stay at home

“All of this joint effort has helped to make this this year’s Carnival a safer event for all.”

Full breakdown of the offences:

Assaults on police – 32

Possession of an offensive weapon - 46

Possession of cannabis – 70

Possession of Class A – 32

Drug supply – 44

Robbery – 5

Violence with injury – 4

Other violence – 36

Sexual offences – 18

Other offences - 136

Please note that all numbers are subject to some change and totals are likely to increase as the force processes the full data through the evening and into Tuesday. A final update will be published around lunchtime on Tuesday.