Carnival crime: what do you think?

Europe's biggest street festival met a violent end on Monday night when police clashed with dozens of troublemakers in Notting Hill.

Despite a crackdown on crime earlier in the day through stop and search policies and a strong securtity presence, the carnival ended with a group of youths attacking unprotected police with bottles, bricks and missiles.

Overall, 330 people were arrested over the course of the weekend, including one for possession of a firearm, 25 for possession of knives, one for possession of a baseball bat, and one for possession of a taser gun. However, serious assaults were down this year, and there were no stabbings or shooting.

Chief Inspector Jo Edwards from the Metropolitan Police called the attack 'disappointing' and 'completely unacceptable,' saying 'that wasn't a carnival, it was fighting with the police.' 

What do you think? Could more have been done to prevent the riot? Was the carnival marred by the minority who caused trouble? Or were these rebels too few to ruin Carnival for the 2.5 million who celebrated the street party safely?

Send in your comments to london@itvlocal.com

See the viewer's video of the riot and hear Chief Inspector Jo Edwards' comments here

Watch the London Tonight report on the carnival disruption here

Visit the dedicated Carnival channel to see highlights from the weekend here

YOUR VIEWS

I don't understand why many people complain about the Carnival. Yes such a huge event will carry with it some crime, but as reported there were no stabbings or gun related crimes. Is this not a good thing especially with all the crime that has happened since the beginning of the year?

Emma Adeleye

I go to carnival every year and i have noticed that every year the police presence has increased incredibly. There seems to be not much trust in londoners who just want to go out and enjoy the day.. instead it seems like its an excuse for the police to fill their books and over-excercise their authority.

Cherine White

I was on a float at notting hill yesterday and i can say it was the worst out of all my years going there. There was less security, less barricading and the few officers that were on the road could not even respond to a situation as in previous years. If this is what Boris wants to showcase to  the  world to get people to come here from the Olympics then he'll have to think again. This year was the worst ever, fighting broke out every 10 good minutes. Think b4 u do Borris

Nyasha Bowman