Post by QPR Report on Dec 10, 2008 9:34:14 GMT
Not completely but plan reducing involvement. Would think would be cost-saving but bad idea.
Nottingham Evening Post
The number of police-free football matches at Forest, County and Stags could rise from next season.
Less than a third - £123,000 - of the £384,000 cost of policing fixtures at the county's three pro clubs last season has been recovered, according to figures released to the Post by Notts police under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), is urging police forces across England and Wales to sit down with clubs before the start of the 2009/10 season and thrash out what policing is required inside and outside club grounds so that clubs have a clearer idea of what they will be expected to pay for.
Notts police chiefs say improvements in stewarding and the success of football banning orders could mean more games are police-free.
Notts Assistant Chief Constable Ian Ackerley said: "I want our police officers to be out in communities tackling anti-social behaviour, reducing crime and apprehending villains."
While no Forest matches are police-free this season, a total of 16 Notts County matches and a number of Mansfield Town games are.
Only current Category A matches at the City Ground, Meadow Lane and Field Mill are considered for downgrading to police-free fixtures. Such games already have a limited police presence due to the historic absence of trouble between opposing supporters, and intelligence.
Mr Ackerley, who played a leading role in the introduction of a number of police-free matches at Stoke City and Port Vale during his time in Staffordshire Police in the late 1990s, said the success of the Pact scheme (Policing and Clubs Together) and the high standard of stewarding at the county's three professional clubs were key factors behind proposals to make more matches free of police.
A total of 100 Forest, County and Stags supporters are currently on Pact bans, with a further 50 fans across the three clubs the subject of court-imposed ban orders.
Concerns over police-free football were raised in July last year after trouble flared at a pre-season friendly match between Notts County and Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane.
A spokesman for Nottingham Forest said the club would not be commenting on police-free football due to uncertainty over which division the club would be playing in.
But Notts County chairman John Armstrong-Holmes is firmly behind increasing the number of police-free games.
He said: "We have an excellent record of trouble-free football in recent years. In fact, since the disappointing pitch invasion 16 months ago when we played a pre-season friendly against Nottingham Forest, there has hardly been a single incident.
"We have an excellent working relationship with Notts police."
Andrew Perry, chairman of Mansfield Town, is also in favour of police-free football.
John Clarke, chairman of Notts Police Authority, also backs police-free matches
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/Police-free-football-plan-for-Notts.aspx
Nottingham Evening PostPaul Ellis, chairman of Nottingham Forest Supporters' Club, said: "I'd like every football match to be police-free but I'm from an older generation. "If the judgement of the police and clubs is that they can manage a situation without the police then it's fantastic. "Why do we want to have police resources at sporting events? "A lot of Forest matches are trouble free. I'm sure there will be a contingency if there's trouble. "I sit on the Nottingham Forest Safety Advisory Group and I am well aware that stewards have been through courses and got diplomas. "This is the way we need and want to go."
Iris Smith, chair of Notts County Supporters' Club, said: "It's a good idea. Economically it's a good thing for clubs. It also means police officers will be out doing the job they are supposed to do. "I've been to games where there is no police and it took a long time for the police to get to the ground when there was an incident. "I think they would need to be at a reasonable distance if trouble occurs. "Football has changed and at grass roots football you do not get much trouble. "Having 30 to 40 police officers standing around at football matches doing nothing is not always a good thing to do with their time."
Dean Foulkes, of the Stags Supporters' Association, said: "I do not see the point in our situation, where we need every penny for players, in not saving money on police costs if it is safe to do so. "The teams we are playing tend to bring 20 to 25 away fans. Cambridge brought 700 but other than that there hasn't been more than 50 people in the away end." He said it might be different if they were promoted,
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/Fan-s-views-on-policing.aspx
Nottingham Evening Post
How clubs team up to stop trouble
Pact (Policing and Clubs Together) is a formal agreement between Notts police, Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Mansfield Town which sees information shared on so-called football fans causing persistent trouble or anti-social behaviour on matchdays. Troublemakers can be banned from football grounds by the clubs involved for up to five years. If the civil order is breached, an offender could face the courts and receive a football banning order from all matches in the UK and abroad for up to ten years. If a court- imposed ban is breached, the offender can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to £5,000.
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/How-clubs-team-up-to-stop-trouble.aspx
Nottingham Evening Post Editorial
In principle, the prospect of more 'police-free' football matches in Notts is welcome.The sport has made great progress since the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s when battalions of coppers waited in the wings of major grounds.
These days, policing is, on the whole, low key at professional matches and all the better for it.
Clubs and the force have done well to reduce the risk of confrontation and the increased use of stewards, and banning of hooligans, has helped achieve that.
There are already matches at Notts County and Mansfield Town which the police do not attend.
And now Notts Police are in talks with those clubs and Nottingham Forest about increasing the number of fixtures next year.
Clearly some games present a higher risk than others, and certain matches are never going to be considered for 'police-free' status.
The challenge will be deciding which games require a police presence and which do not.
One of the reasons this issue is under discussion now is because local clubs have not been making full payment to the police for the work they do on match days.
Last year, less than a third of the £384,000 cost of policing fixtures at the county's three pro clubs was recovered
As a result, and quite reasonably, Notts Police thinks officers should not attend matches where history and intelligence suggests they are not required, thereby reducing costs.
Each match must be judged entirely on its merits and, we would argue, the authorities must err on the side of caution.
The cost of policing a match must never influence whether officers are deployed.
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/Post-comment--Where-to-draw-line-on-football-polic.aspx
Nottingham Evening Post
The number of police-free football matches at Forest, County and Stags could rise from next season.
Less than a third - £123,000 - of the £384,000 cost of policing fixtures at the county's three pro clubs last season has been recovered, according to figures released to the Post by Notts police under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), is urging police forces across England and Wales to sit down with clubs before the start of the 2009/10 season and thrash out what policing is required inside and outside club grounds so that clubs have a clearer idea of what they will be expected to pay for.
Notts police chiefs say improvements in stewarding and the success of football banning orders could mean more games are police-free.
Notts Assistant Chief Constable Ian Ackerley said: "I want our police officers to be out in communities tackling anti-social behaviour, reducing crime and apprehending villains."
While no Forest matches are police-free this season, a total of 16 Notts County matches and a number of Mansfield Town games are.
Only current Category A matches at the City Ground, Meadow Lane and Field Mill are considered for downgrading to police-free fixtures. Such games already have a limited police presence due to the historic absence of trouble between opposing supporters, and intelligence.
Mr Ackerley, who played a leading role in the introduction of a number of police-free matches at Stoke City and Port Vale during his time in Staffordshire Police in the late 1990s, said the success of the Pact scheme (Policing and Clubs Together) and the high standard of stewarding at the county's three professional clubs were key factors behind proposals to make more matches free of police.
A total of 100 Forest, County and Stags supporters are currently on Pact bans, with a further 50 fans across the three clubs the subject of court-imposed ban orders.
Concerns over police-free football were raised in July last year after trouble flared at a pre-season friendly match between Notts County and Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane.
A spokesman for Nottingham Forest said the club would not be commenting on police-free football due to uncertainty over which division the club would be playing in.
But Notts County chairman John Armstrong-Holmes is firmly behind increasing the number of police-free games.
He said: "We have an excellent record of trouble-free football in recent years. In fact, since the disappointing pitch invasion 16 months ago when we played a pre-season friendly against Nottingham Forest, there has hardly been a single incident.
"We have an excellent working relationship with Notts police."
Andrew Perry, chairman of Mansfield Town, is also in favour of police-free football.
John Clarke, chairman of Notts Police Authority, also backs police-free matches
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/Police-free-football-plan-for-Notts.aspx
Nottingham Evening PostPaul Ellis, chairman of Nottingham Forest Supporters' Club, said: "I'd like every football match to be police-free but I'm from an older generation. "If the judgement of the police and clubs is that they can manage a situation without the police then it's fantastic. "Why do we want to have police resources at sporting events? "A lot of Forest matches are trouble free. I'm sure there will be a contingency if there's trouble. "I sit on the Nottingham Forest Safety Advisory Group and I am well aware that stewards have been through courses and got diplomas. "This is the way we need and want to go."
Iris Smith, chair of Notts County Supporters' Club, said: "It's a good idea. Economically it's a good thing for clubs. It also means police officers will be out doing the job they are supposed to do. "I've been to games where there is no police and it took a long time for the police to get to the ground when there was an incident. "I think they would need to be at a reasonable distance if trouble occurs. "Football has changed and at grass roots football you do not get much trouble. "Having 30 to 40 police officers standing around at football matches doing nothing is not always a good thing to do with their time."
Dean Foulkes, of the Stags Supporters' Association, said: "I do not see the point in our situation, where we need every penny for players, in not saving money on police costs if it is safe to do so. "The teams we are playing tend to bring 20 to 25 away fans. Cambridge brought 700 but other than that there hasn't been more than 50 people in the away end." He said it might be different if they were promoted,
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/Fan-s-views-on-policing.aspx
Nottingham Evening Post
How clubs team up to stop trouble
Pact (Policing and Clubs Together) is a formal agreement between Notts police, Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Mansfield Town which sees information shared on so-called football fans causing persistent trouble or anti-social behaviour on matchdays. Troublemakers can be banned from football grounds by the clubs involved for up to five years. If the civil order is breached, an offender could face the courts and receive a football banning order from all matches in the UK and abroad for up to ten years. If a court- imposed ban is breached, the offender can be jailed for up to six months or fined up to £5,000.
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/How-clubs-team-up-to-stop-trouble.aspx
Nottingham Evening Post Editorial
In principle, the prospect of more 'police-free' football matches in Notts is welcome.The sport has made great progress since the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s when battalions of coppers waited in the wings of major grounds.
These days, policing is, on the whole, low key at professional matches and all the better for it.
Clubs and the force have done well to reduce the risk of confrontation and the increased use of stewards, and banning of hooligans, has helped achieve that.
There are already matches at Notts County and Mansfield Town which the police do not attend.
And now Notts Police are in talks with those clubs and Nottingham Forest about increasing the number of fixtures next year.
Clearly some games present a higher risk than others, and certain matches are never going to be considered for 'police-free' status.
The challenge will be deciding which games require a police presence and which do not.
One of the reasons this issue is under discussion now is because local clubs have not been making full payment to the police for the work they do on match days.
Last year, less than a third of the £384,000 cost of policing fixtures at the county's three pro clubs was recovered
As a result, and quite reasonably, Notts Police thinks officers should not attend matches where history and intelligence suggests they are not required, thereby reducing costs.
Each match must be judged entirely on its merits and, we would argue, the authorities must err on the side of caution.
The cost of policing a match must never influence whether officers are deployed.
www.thisisnottscounty.co.uk/News/Post-comment--Where-to-draw-line-on-football-polic.aspx
