It's a weekend of harmless fun for thousands of Londoners who dress up and head out to celebrate Halloween.
But for the Metropolitan Police, this time of year looks far more sinister.
As nights become darker and revellers take to the streets wearing Halloween costumes, balaclava-clad thugs seize the opportunity to blend into the background and break the law.
This year, gangs involved in robberies, burglaries and knife crime across north west London faced a major police crackdown, the Daily Mail can reveal.
Officers intensified efforts to suppress violent offences in the sector during one of the busiest weekends for crime across all seasons.
It came amid wider police efforts to reduce violent offences across north west London, with personal robbery falling by more than half (51 per cent), from 207 offences in May to 101 in October.
The Daily Mail was on Friday invited to go out on patrol with two uniformed officers from the Met Police to crack down on burglary, aggravated burglary, robbery and violence across the sector.
The shift - dubbed Operation Moonshield - saw officers in marked and unmarked police vehicles respond to urgent 999 reports, while patrolling chaos zones known for high levels of crime.
A knife detained by police during Operation Moonshield on Friday night, after a man allegedly started attacking a car with a person inside in north west London. The suspect was quickly arrested
A man (left) is arrested outside a property after allegedly attacking a vehicle with a person inside
Four arrests were made throughout the operation - including for rape, theft and possession of a knife - while 13 stop searches were also carried out.
After a brief introduction and safety talk at 7pm, we got into the back of an unmarked police car and began driving around busy roads near Wembley Stadium, where American rapper Macklemore was performing a sold-out concert later that evening.
Within minutes of patrolling the area, we received a 999 report from the control room ordering us to head to a knife incident nearby, where a woman claimed her husband was being threatened with the weapon outside a row of properties.
Before we knew it, the blue lights and sirens had been activated and we were hurtling down a residential street at terrifying speed, running red lights and flying over speed bumps.
Upon our arrival, several marked police cars were already at the scene, where the suspect had just been detained and arrested for possession of a knife, assault and criminal damage.
The large police presence was typical of knife incidents, Inspector Pete Self told me, due to the serious nature of the weapon.
Machetes, zombie knives and guns are all being seen among criminal groups in the capital, with this time of year particularly high for violent crime.
'As we go into Halloween and Guy Fawkes we see a seasonal spike, and that happens every year without fail,' Inspector Self said.
'We see an increase in robbery and violent offences due to dark nights, people dressing up, and more victims of crime being out on the street.'
Of the incident we attended, Inspector Self later explained a man is believed to have driven home drunk and crashed into another vehicle, causing its owner to come outside.
'The victim has come out, obviously remonstrating with this person, and the suspect has drawn out a large knife and threatened him with it, and damaged the car,' he said.
Data from earlier this year revealed violent assaults have dramatically increased in the capital since Mayor Sadiq Khan came to power in 2016.
Reports of violence against the person soared by nearly a third between 2016/17 and 2025/26 to hit 242,777 in total.
A man is then Tasered for failing to cooperate. He was later arrested for obstruction of search and breach of bail
Theft from the person increased by 140 per cent over the same period, while sexual and drug offences were up by 55 per cent and 34 per cent respectively.
Continuing our operation, we were soon back in our vehicle and patrolling the streets again, minutes later called to an incident in which a man had been Tasered for failing to cooperate. He was later arrested for obstruction of search and breach of bail.
Perhaps the most terrifying call of the night was a house burglary, which saw a couple with a child call 999 to say they had come home to hear someone moving around upstairs.
As we arrived at the scene, located on an affluent street in north west London, a police dog was being released into the house to hunt the burglar, who had in fact already fled. The back door of the property was found smashed in.
A short while later, we found ourselves running through an almost pitch-black park searching for two men on Sur-Ron bikes - high-powered vehicles often used in street crime. The bicycles are now also used by the Met Police to patrol city streets and catch criminals.
The pair had previously been linked to a gang involved in robberies and violent crime, and were believed to be riding around while hiding weapons nearby.
'Operation Moonshield is all about violence,' Inspector Self said. 'This is a simple suppression operation. Over the last few months we have been working really hard to reduce violent robbery calls.'
As other officers swooped on the scene, we got back into our police vehicle, fearing the duo could be armed.
Inspector Pete Self (pictured) said there is a 'seasonal spike' in crime every year around Halloween
Officer Chris Rayner (left) speaks to the Daily Mail about crime in the area
A man was detained following a vehicle stop near Wembley Stadium, before police searched the car
Once Macklemore's concert kicked off at Wembley Stadium, we headed towards the area, paying close attention to masked men on electric bikes and drivers sat in cars on dark roads.
While sat at a set of traffic lights, we were suddenly overtaken by a BMW driver zooming past, running a red light.
Chasing him at full speed, he eventually came to a stop, where officers discovered he had nine points on his licence. The 24-year-old, driving with a car full of people, was let off with a final warning and told to slow down.
At around midnight, our final call of the night was a vehicle stop, with a man wanted a few days earlier found with a knife and drugs in his car. He had initially failed to stop for police.
As we stood there in the cold, two men were detained at the scene while officers put various items from the car into plastic bags. The road was temporarily closed and a huge police presence filled the area.
Reflecting on the operation, Inspector Self deemed the night a success, adding: 'It's been a successful night; we've had quite a lot of activity.
'Generally that is what we're aiming for - to suppress that violent crime.
'Obviously it's going to kind of build into the next couple of days, Halloween and Guy Fawkes.
'Generally speaking it has been a successful shift for us.'
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