Notting Hill Carnival will be policed with metal-detecting knife arches for the first time ever

1 million people are expected to attend the parade in London over the bank holiday weekend

Police officers will use metal-detecting knife arches for the first time ever at Notting Hill Carnival as part of efforts to increase security at the event. The "tried and tested" method aims to reduce the number of people attending the event carrying knives and other offensive weapons. It will see the largest number of police officers at the Carnival in six years, 13,000 over the two days. That's 450 more than last year with close to 7,000 coppers present on Monday and 6,000 on Sunday's family day. The location of the arches was not disclosed but a Met police spokesperson confirmed they did not expect everyone to pass through them, Dave Musker, police gold commander for the event, said: "The Met seeks to support Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, Carnivalists and local communities to deliver a safe and spectacular event over the bank holiday weekend. "Our continued major effort directed against violence across the capital will continue. "Let no one be in any doubt that if you have the intention to come to Carnival and be involved in crime or violence, my officers will robustly and proactively target you to keep Londoners safe." Elisabeth Chapple, Met spokeswoman for Carnival, said: "Whilst there's no specific threat to this event, we are keeping the situation under constant review."