How to police a football match
Getting paid to go the ground on match days seems pretty good for most of us, but for the police it's a different story. You or I would have trouble getting a few hundred well behaved people in and out of a good manners convention safely. The police on duty at Fir Park have to get between five and ten thousand football fans in and out of a football ground safely, remembering football fans could be drunk, bad tempered, unco-operative and at times even violent. They do a great job and I decided that I would like to find out more about their match- day duties.
I sent a letter to Motherwell Police Station asking to speak to the officer in charge of policing Fir Park. Officer Campbell Thomson agreed to speak to me before the Aberdeen cup tie. Half an hour before kick off Superintendent White met me on the track in side the ground. He took me to the police control room which is situated in the left corner of the South Stand. There I met the Match Commander, Campbell Thomson and safety officer Ken Davies. Before answering my questions he showed me round the control room. There are CCTV cameras that view all four stands in colour and there are black and white cameras outside the ground. There are several monitors in the control room to display the pictures. If there is a disturbance in the crowd that is picked up on camera then the police can make still photographs.
Having made sure that there was no trouble Officer Thomson found time to answer some of my questions. Cue drumroll as the interview begins........
GLF: How many officers would you have at a normal match?
CT: 40 altogether plus 55-60 club stewards. There may also be officers from other towns to spot known trouble makers.
GLF: How may officers would you have at an old firm match?
CT: 125, plus support unit with shields.
GLF: What is a typical matchday routine for you and your officers?
CT: Everyone is briefed one and a half hours before the game and then they go to their positions.
GLF: If a fan is removed from his/her seat, is he charged with an offence or is he just kept in custody till the game is over ?
CT: He would be invited to leave the ground by a steward but if he refuses and the police are called then yes, he will be charged.
GLF: Has modern technology made your job any easier?
CT: Yes, we can now see trouble as it happens on cameras which can zoom in and take pictures of a seat number if necessary. We also talk to each other through radios and the ambulance service have radios too. The stewards have their own radios.
GLF: Are you a football fan?
CT: No.
GLF: Are there any fans who you like/dislike being at Fir Park?
CT: Yes, but I'm not going to tell you who.
GLF: Do you have any plain clothes officers in the crowd?
CT: No, as a rule we don't have any in all seater stadia, but occasionally we would put plain clothes officers on the terraces where we could infiltrate more easily.
GLF: What is your main job at games?
CT: We're here for safety. No fans are let in until the stewards are in their positions and for big games we have barriers which you need a ticket to get past. This should prevent fans rushing the ground and causing another Hillsbrough. The turnstiles are linked to a computer which tells us how many fans there are in the ground. If the number is higher than ground capacity then we won't let any more fans in.
GLF: If players were fighting would you go on to the park to separate them?
CT: No, the players are the referee's responsibility. I talk to the referee before the game and we agree procedure to follow if the stadium has to be evacuated. We also control the P.A. system so we can broadcast safety messages at any time.
Just as the game started Ken Davies took me back to my seat. In contrast to officer Thomson he is a die hard 'Well fan although he manages to keep an eye on the crowd rather than the game!
Thanks again to Officer Thomson, Superintendent White, Ken Davies and to a police officer whose name I don't know who got me a couple of still photographs!!
Derek Wilson
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