LONDON, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- British police arrested 636 as part of London's Notting Hill Carnival policing operation, Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday.
The annual carnival running from Last Sunday and Monday is considered as Europe's largest street festival, celebrating Caribbean culture through music, dance and food.
242 arrests were made on Sunday and 394 on Monday, with the rest taking place before and after the event, according to the police statement. Offences included possession and supply of drugs, assaults, possession of weapons, sexual offences and public order offences.
The police said they would deploy over 7,000 officers to west London over the August Bank Holiday weekend as part of the Carnival policing operation.
The use of live facial recognition technology was expanded this year, leading to 121 arrests and 86 registered sex offenders being stopped and spoken to. Seven registered sex offenders were found to be breaching their conditions or notification requirements and were arrested.
Stop and search was used extensively as part of the policing, which found 68 weapons, including a handgun. ■
