Rage Online Blog

Too much Babylon?

There's a report on the BBC today that quotes the Football Supporters Federation (FSF to you and me) claiming that there is still too much policing at football matches. The spokesperson says that fans are "being subject to heavy-handed policing week in, week out". The claim has, unsurprisingly, been denied by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO to no one but themselves). The Bill reckon that a lot fewer games have a police presence than was the case 20 years ago, and those games that are policed are done so by significantly fewer officers.

So, who's right? Going by my own experience of following Oxford United home and away, I would say that there is evidence to support both sides of the argument. It's certainly true that at Oxford there is hardly any evidence of a police presence except for some of the higher-profile fixtures, such as Luton Town at home last season, and that it is mostly the stewards who are tasked, not always successfully, with keeping order inside the ground. However, especially at some away games, there has also been far too heavy policing on occasion, occasionally leading to problems where none would otherwise have existed. There have also been occasions where a large police presence has proven necessary, such as the away game at Luton last season where the activities of the home fans left little doubt that they still believed it is the mid-1970s.

So, too much policing? Yes, but not all the time. Often there is no policing at all, and sometimes there is a justified level of policing. Sometimes, though, there is a police presence where none is needed, and that has to be looked at and improved. Football is nowadays, like it or not, an activity that is now attended by large numbers of families, as well as individual women, oldsters, youngsters, and people with disabilities. They need to be protected from the Luton-style louts, but they also need to be treated with respect and not be subjected to body searches, rough treatment, or intimidation by thoughtless dog handlers or police horses, etc. All it really needs is a bit of common sense, but sadly that's often lacking from all sides of the divide.

Labels: ACPO, FSF, Luton Town, Police