Freeman's Wharfer Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17660363 So Andy Holt, a senior police officer, has said that he thinks football clubs should pay more for policing in the areas around their grounds on a matchday. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Personally I think it's a very cheeky statement to say the least. Football matches are already over-policed as it is, how many times do you see scores of police stood around in that tunnel near the away end doing nothing at Leicester matches? Countless times there are hoardes of police inside stadiums and not even a hint of trouble and I can't help but think it's by way of milking football clubs for revenue (as Wigan proved a few years ago when they challenged their costs). Yes, crime may increase on a matchday but that happens in any area where a number of people that wouldn't normally be in that area congregate there. Football clubs can't control this, this can't dictate who comes into the areas around their stadiums, and, consequently, it's a somewhat unavoidable inevitability that crime could occur. The police are there primarily to protect and serve the public, not to look for the easiest attributable scapegoat to recoup their money from. And if they are to go to football clubs demanding all of the money they have supposedly cost an area by attracting crowds of people there can the football clubs then go claiming a stake in the revenue that this crowd also creates? So because 20,000+ people are in and around the stadium on a matchday in Leicester (with the unfortunate cost in terms of the crime that comes with this many people being there), can the club also be attributed to all of the expenditure by those people in the local shops, bars, restaurants and cafes? Can they therefore go round local businesses taking their cut?! Of course not. There are pros and cons with football clubs attracting scores of people into the same area, the cons need to be seen as a by-product of all of the potentially beneficial outcomes. Not as a way to scrounge a bit of extra money out of what is already a lucrative cash cow for the police. As a final point, if you want to charge more for the service you provide you need to justify that price increase with an increase in the quality of service that you provide. Would any one of us that goes to football regularly say that the police are value for money in terms of what they offer in and around the ground? I would be pretty confident in saying few would. So go re-think Andy Holt!
davieG Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 So I attend a football match, park my car in a pay and display car park giving potential thieves specific information as to how long I'll be gone for, when I return I find my car has been stolen and the police want to charge the clubs because of the increase in crime levels. Where do they get these people from?
Voll Blau Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 Maddening and the clubs should be standing up to this ludicrous notion, although of course they'll bottle it and give in.
Guest Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 Clubs will not be rolling over on this. Wigan took the GMP to court over costs, this is why ACC Holt is looking at the situation again. City have also had issues, and have resisted increased costs in the past. They already pay enough for police costs, and they will not pay any more.
Trav Le Bleu Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 I was thinking on this earlier and came up with this simple solution. I think that a lot of people will agree that football matches are actually over policed. So what (most, there's a few clubs that DO need thousands of coppers (I'm looking at you Millwall! )) clubs should do is pay the police force LESS and have fewer police in and around the ground. This would save money for the clubs and free up valuable police resources to counter criminal activity in the outlying regions. It's win/win!
Jon the Hat Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 This is a ****ing brilliant idea! If we narrow down the cost of policing to just those people who require policing, then everyone else can pay less. So, let's think. Anyone who goes to football should pay. And people who drive or use public transport. Shoppers yes. Homeowners, and come to think Of it anyone who owns a car or a bike, or a house, or anything actually. and people who go to places, like work or a pub or like somewhere else. That is a lot of people. We are going to need some way of charging these people. Maybe like a tax that everyone pays! I should be running the country!!!!
Craig Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 I was thinking on this earlier and came up with this simple solution. I think that a lot of people will agree that football matches are actually over policed. So what (most, there's a few clubs that DO need thousands of coppers (I'm looking at you Millwall! )) clubs should do is pay the police force LESS and have fewer police in and around the ground. This would save money for the clubs and free up valuable police resources to counter criminal activity in the outlying regions. It's win/win! It's my understanding that it's the Police who decide what resources are required for each specific match, not the club. If clubs were to decide that they would start dictating how many Police resources were required (and this would obviously be less than the Police currently do), and how much they deserve to be paid for these resources, then the Police would probably refuse to Police the match. Safety certificates would then be withdrawn, and the match would have to be played behind closed doors; ala Kettering vs Telford a couple of months ago (though it was postponed in the end). The Police are holding clubs by the bollocks at the moment, and there's not a great deal that can be done about it. That's my understanding of it anyway, and I may be absolutely wrong.
21st Century Fox Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 This is just off the back of Stockport County's chairman Lord Snape's claim that Greater Manchester Police have been bleeding clubs to cover the overtime pay for Police.
Gold Coast Fox Posted 10 April 2012 Posted 10 April 2012 Hope Millwall have an administrator lined up
21st Century Fox Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 All fans banned from Gillingham - Swindon Town football match Football fans have been banned from a League Two match between Gillingham and Swindon Town following a row over policing costs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17678341
Guest Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 That's disgusting. Tbh, I reckon most police officers would love it if nobody turned up to games. What would the police do if Swindon fans turned up in Gillingham regardless of whether they can or cannot get into the game?
Daggers Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 That's disgusting. Tbh, I reckon most police officers would love it if nobody turned up to games.What would the police do if Swindon fans turned up in Gillingham regardless of whether they can or cannot get into the game? Maybe the police are secretly helping to reduce ticket prices?
davieG Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 Why the need to ban all fans though, surely they could have said only ST holders and Members from each club can attend, not ideal but it leads me to believe this is all part of a police campaign to extort more money from the clubs/fans as there is no logical reason to ban the people, they say they are protecting. Protecting surely means allowing them to go but making sure they do not suffer.
Guest Bilo Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 All fans banned from Gillingham - Swindon Town football match Football fans have been banned from a League Two match between Gillingham and Swindon Town following a row over policing costs. http://www.bbc.co.uk...ngland-17678341 Disgraceful decision, particularly on a day that promises to be very special for the Swindon fans. As has already been stated, the majority of football matches are laughably over-policed anyway and football clubs are seen as nothing more than an earner by local constabularies. Plenty of overtime and getting to watch the football for free? Nice work if you can get it. This doesn't half set a scary precedent, how long before every police force blackmails their local club like this?
Mike the Metal Ed Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 This doesn't half set a scary precedent, how long before every police force blackmails their local club like this? That probably happens somewhere every week as is, but usually the club just caves.
Craig Posted 11 April 2012 Posted 11 April 2012 All fans banned from Gillingham - Swindon Town football match Football fans have been banned from a League Two match between Gillingham and Swindon Town following a row over policing costs. http://www.bbc.co.uk...ngland-17678341 This is exactly what I was talking about. Ridiculous.
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