Policing Notting Hill

Tony Moore

Description

Tony Moore shows how the area continually adapted to challenges that first began after the Empire Windrush arrived in England carrying immigrants who were initially met by signs saying 'No Coloured', but for whom Notting Hill became an area of choice.

Sujets

• Histoire
• Gran Londres
• Greater London
• Grand Londres
• London

Informations

• Publié par: Waterside Press
• Date de parution: 24 juillet 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781908162434
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Policing Notting Hill
Fifty Years of Turbulence
Tony Moore



Copyright and Publication Details
Policing Notting Hill
Fifty Years of Turbulence
Tony Moore
ISBN 978-1-904380-61-0 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-908162-42-7 (Adobe E-book) ISBN 978-1-908162-43-4 (Kindle /Epub E-book)
Copyright © 2013 This work is the copyright of Tony Moore. All intellectual property and associated rights are hereby asserted and reserved by the author in full compliance with UK, European and international law. No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, including in hard copy or via the internet, without the prior written permission of the publishers to whom all such rights have been assigned worldwide.
Cover design © 2013 Waterside Press. Design by www.gibgob.com
Cataloguing-In-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library.
e-book Policing Notting Hill is available as an ebook and also to subscribers of Myilibrary, Dawsonera, ebrary and Ebscohost.
Printed by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, UK.
Main UK distributor Gardners Books, 1 Whittle Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6QH. Tel: [phone]; [e-mail] ; www.gardners.com
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Published 2013 by Waterside Press Ltd. Sherfield Gables Sherfield on Loddon Hook, Hampshire United Kingdom RG27 0JG
Telephone [phone] E-mail [e-mail] Online catalogue WatersidePress.co.uk


Contents
Copyright and Publication Details
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Foreword
Introduction In the Beginning…
Introduction
Housing
Employment
Prostitution
Lack of Entertainment
Disputes
Conclusions Race Riots of 1958
Prelude to the Riot
Friday 29/Saturday 30 August
Saturday 30/Sunday 31 August
Sunday 31 August/Monday 1 September
Monday 1/Tuesday 2 September — The Police Gain the Upper Hand
Tuesday 2/Wednesday 3 September
Rain Signals the End
Conclusion
Postscript Aftermath of the Riots
The Immediate Response
The Politicians
The Fascists
The West Indian Community
The Rio Coffee Bar
The Murder of Kelso Cochrane
The Fascists’ Response to Cochrane’s Death
The Police
The African-Caribbean Community in Notting Hill Three Hustlers from Notting Hill
Introduction
Rachman
The First Hustler — Michael de Freitas
Christine Keeler and Stephen Ward
The Second Hustler — Aloysius ‘Lucky’ Gordon
The Third Hustler — Johnny Edgecombe
The Beginning of the End
Tidying Up Loose Ends
Postscript Murder Most Foul
Heath and Haigh
Evans and Christie
‘Jack the Stripper’ Rise of the Mangrove
Flower Power and Drugs
Opening of the Mangrove
Tensions Rise
Black Power
Metro Youth Club
Trial of the Mangrove Nine
The Angry Brigade
Postscript The Early Years of the Carnival and Race Relations
Race Relations
Three Significant Reports
The Newman Paper The 1976 Riot
Introduction
Disagreements
Police Arrangements
Sunday 29 August
Monday 30 August
Trouble in Acklam Road
The Police Response
Cordons are Established in Portobello Road
Trouble Erupts in Ladbroke Grove
Disorder Increases in Ladbroke Grove
Regaining Control in Ladbroke Grove
The Area to the East of Portobello Road
The Area is Cleared
The Final Toll Worsening Relations
Analysis of the 1976 Carnival
Trials of Those Arrested
Effects on the Organization of future Carnivals
Raid on The Mangrove
Lead-up to the 1977 Carnival
Reviewing the Period 1972 to 1977
The Carnival Continues
Crichlow Arrested Again
The 1979 Carnival
Change of Policy at the Mangrove
Review of the Period 1978 to 1979
Black Youths Increasingly Linked with Criminality I Arrive at Notting Hill
The Bristol Riot
My Arrival at Notting Hill
The 1980 Carnival
Crime and Drugs
Shebeens
Relationships Between the Police and the Black Community
Two Events that Could have had Serious Implications for Notting Hill
Four Days of Skirmishes
The 1981 Carnival
Conclusions Increasing Tensions — The Lead Up to the 1982 Riot
The Scarman Report and its Aftermath
Rastafarians
Christmas Eve 1981
Increasing Tension
Operation Michael
The Drugs Raid on 20 February
Release of the Crime Figures
Law Centre Report
Serious Escalation Averted The 1982 Riot and Aftermath
The Incident on 20 April
Withdrawal
Re-deployment
The Aftermath
What the Newspapers Said
Difficulties in Prosecuting Those Who Had Been Arrested
Departure from Notting Hill A Change of Approach
Early Baptism for the New Divisional Commander
A Deteriorating Situation
Efforts by the Police and Others
The 1982 Carnival
High Profile Patrols
Anniversary of the Publication of the Scarman Report
The Commissioner Enters the Fray
Attempts to Reduce Tension
Release of the Crime Figures The Definitive Document on All Saints Road
Police Consultative Committee Meetings
More Incidents in All Saints Road
Internal Publication of the Definitive Document
Attempt to Introduce Neighbourhood Policing
The 1983 Carnival
The Difficulties Continue
The 1984 Carnival
Setting up of a Formal Police Consultative Committee
The Departure of Chief Superintendent Whitfield
Worsening Situation in All Saints Road
The 1985 Carnival
Widespread Hostility
The Changing Face of All Saints Road The Leonard Incident, Operation Trident, the Notting Hill Rapist and The Black Watch
The Leonard Incident
Drugs Again
Operation Trident
Inner-City Task Force
The Notting Hill Rapist
Police Complaints Authority Investigation. More Trouble at the Carnival
Introduction
The 1987 Carnival
The 1988 Carnival
The Coopers and Lybrand Report
The 1989 Carnival
The 1990 Carnival A Change of Direction
Introduction
Crichlow Arrested Again
‘Blinkered Police Officers’
Controversy
The War on Drugs Continues
Black Leaders Should Accept More Responsibility
A New Divisional Commander
Beginning of the End for the Mangrove
The Battle Against Drugs Continues
Strategy for Dealing with Illegal Drugs
Conclusions From Turbulence to Gentrification
Changes at the Top
Getting to Grips with Allegations of Assault
City Challenge
Sector Policing
Street Robberies Reach ‘Epidemic’ Proportions
Guns on the Streets
Crack on the Rise
The Community Take Action
Carnival
Conclusions
Epilogue
A Racist Police Force
Carnival
Crack Again
The August Riots
Drawing the Story to an End
Index


Acknowledgements
This book has been over 20 years in the writing but I could not have put together the story of these 50 turbulent years without the assistance of a number of the police officers who either served on Notting Hill Division or were connected to its policing activities in some way during this period. Under the former category come Jim Busby, David Cooke, David Gilbertson, Rod Havard, Tim Hollis, Stan May, Matt Nicholls, Denis O’Connor, Charles Rideout, Colin Searle, Alan Shave, and Anthony Wills, who were all either gracious enough to allow me to interview them or exchanged correspondence with me, often despite busy schedules.
I am particularly indebted to Graham Sharp who served as an inspector for four years during what was probably the most difficult period and then returned, firstly as the Deputy Divisional Commander before becoming the Divisional Commander for the final stage of the journey.
Amongst those who did not serve at Notting Hill but had knowledge of some of the events described in the book were John Purnell, Larry Roach and Ken Diccocks. During the late-1980s, a number of the senior officers deployed at the 1976 Notting Hill Carnival were kind enough either to allow me to interview them or took the time to exchange correspondence with me whilst I was completing a thesis on public order policing at the University of Southampton. These included Brian Dovey, Wilfred Gibson, Robert Hunt, John Perrett, and Ron Patterson. I am extremely grateful to them all.
Over a period stretching from the late-1980s until well into the 1990s, I regularly visited the library at what was then the Police Staff College at Bramshill where Sue King and her staff were most helpful in response to my requests for obscure pieces of information relating to the policing of Notting Hill. Two other libraries gave me assistance insofar as researching newspapers: the British Museum Newspaper Library at Colindale and the public library in Kensington.
I am grateful to Bryan Gibson and his team at Waterside Press, firstly for agreeing to publish the book and, secondly, for the helpful advice given during its preparation. Also to Kate Whittingham for drawing the various maps that are included at appropriate places in the book.
My final and most important thanks go to my wife, Hamide, who showed great patience and understanding whilst I was writing the book and who kept me supplied with numerous cups of tea and coffee. For all this, I am eternally grateful.
Where comment or discussion is not original I have taken care to acknowledge other sources. Where I express my own comments or observations I should emphasise that they do not necessarily represent the views of the Metropolitan Police, either then or now, or of the police service in general.
Tony Moore
May 2013


About the Author

Tony Moore was Divisional Commander at Notting Hill for two years at the start of the 1980s: at what the film-maker Roger Graef described as ‘the most widely publicised ‘nick’ in Britain’ ( Evening Standard ).
After a year in the Metropolitan Poli