British Transport Police Concerned Over Increase of Football Hooliganism

As the season gets fully under way, the British Transport Police have reported that recorded incidents have increased on English Railways. They’ve presented the following stats:-

• Football related offences recorded by BTP rose 38% in 2012/13 compared to the previous year (up from 590 to 812).
• Similarly, arrests increased this season by 23% (up from 632 to 780), largely due to dedicated police activity to combat disorder and anti-social behaviour.
• Most offences are recorded post-match, the peak hour being between 7pm and 8pm and the peak age for those arrested is 20.
• Alcohol is not surprisingly an aggravating factor in disorder with over a quarter of incidents flagged as alcohol related (26%).

They also reported that many incidents go unreported by rail staff, because they see it ‘as part of the job’.

BTP Assistant Chief Constable Steve Thomas has said:-

We need rail staff to report all instances of anti-social behaviour so we have the full picture and can respond immediately where necessary.

Abusive and drunken behaviour, travelling without tickets or violent behaviour are not acceptable at any time, and travelling to or from a match is no excuse.

This season, we are making renewed efforts working with the rail industry to identify the small number of violent, drunken, disorderly or racist individuals who give clubs and football generally a bad name. If they are very drunk, they will find themselves refused travel; if they are disorderly, they will be removed from trains; if they are violent or racist they will be arrested and we will seek banning orders against them. We will use CCTV, uniform and plain clothes officers to identify those responsible and then take action against them. Passengers can also ‘discreetly’ report crime and disorderly behaviour using BTP’s 61016 text number.

However, while the press release indicates an increase in hooliganism, the flip side has to be that there is increasing policing for football fans. Indeed there is plenty of evidence that police are a lot more controlling of individuals who attend football matches and a greater readiness for section orders, arrests and Football Banning Orders (FBOs). The press release should not be taken as concrete evidence of an increased problem.

What’s been your experience?