The new ruling on police costs could result in football grounds being shut down « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

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By Tony Attwood

It seems a long long time ago, but time was when there were police inside the ground at Arsenal games.  Sometimes lots of them.  Now I never see any, and I am not sure if they are there.  All we have are stewards, some of whom are helpful and good at their job, some of whom are there to chat to their mates.

The police at Arsenal games are, as we all know, outside the ground, sitting on horses that make a mess on the street which it is easy to step in, blocking St Thomas’ and other roads, arresting supporters for handing over tickets that they can’t use to their mates, and the like.  (Although I am sure they are all jolly nice people and their activities are really very necessary).

But for some time there has been a question – should Arsenal pay for these police – police who are not on Arsenal premises and who are not asked by Arsenal to be there.

The law of the land has always been that the state pays for policing of the public streets, while the organiser of an event pays if police are required within that event.

But it seems the police, or at least their employers, have not been happy with this, and they have been charging football clubs for policing the roads.

Now Leeds United have fought back and taken the police to court.  And they have won a High Court case against West Yorkshire Police over whether they or the police authority should pay for policing around the stadium on match days.

If you have been to Elland Road you’ll know it is in a strange sort of environment which is quite different from the Ems, and indeed many other grounds.  It is away from the city centre, and I have found that driving there one just comes across it with odd car parks and a pub nearby and some bits of land that I think Leeds own.  I can’t see that much policing is needed there – but then I am not a policeman.

Anyway Leeds has argued that policing streets and car parks near its Elland Road ground is a public duty of the police, as it has always been.  Mr Justice Eady agreed and ruled that the cops have to repay the club and can’t charge them any more.

So what we all used to think was the case (that the police can’t charge businesses for policing outside their premises) is still the case. The simple test to be applied is, is the land owned or controlled by the club or by others?  If the club, the club pays.  But no more.

But here’s another point.  Supposing you have a club where there is no history of trouble in and around the ground.  The cost to the public purse is limited.  The Met Police can go on putting coppers on station platforms if they want, and have barricades of them in the streets leading up to Seven Sisters, but that is up to them.  They can’t charge Arsenal, and it may be that they will now think again about whether so many police hanging around the streets all claiming overtime rates, paid for by the club, is necessary.  I’ve written before about the lunatic fringe of young policemen who run around screaming at people having a quiet pre-match drink (although as I have also always said, the older wiser guys who police the area are generally helpful, reasonable and very much aware of their purpose.

But what of clubs that have a history of violence and affray?  Now the public purse has to pay to police those grounds and their volatile support.

So what is to be done?  Certainly one possibility is for the police to try and get CPS (who bring prosecutions in the UK) to take legal action against clubs.  They might start looking to reduce the number of spectators that can go in the ground not because of safety within, but because of safety outside the ground given that they can’t afford to put many police in the streets.

Certainly West Yorks Police were grading games at Leeds according to risk factors, and policing (and charging) accordingly, and that suggests they might not like the cost of specific games, and say, sorry we can’t do this one.

I go down this route because WY Police said after the hearing, “We welcome the fact that the judge recognised the invidious position the force faces and the possibility of the force being unable to support the club’s existing match arrangements in the present economic climate.”  In other words the police might oppose a licence for the match to be held on the grounds that they can’t afford to police it.  Also the local authority could refuse permission for a game to be held if they felt that the police were unable to put in enough constables to control the event.

The judge said there was no single drain on West Yorkshire Police’s resources greater than that of policing games at Leeds.  Maybe those who muck about a bit too much could find themselves getting their club shut down.

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If you think you know your Arsenal, it is time to think again. Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football.

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