Police Costs To Rise?
Friday, 28th Feb 2003 00:00

Vetch Policing Costs Set To Rise?

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The criticism comes after a proposal from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) that police forces should be given the green light to recoup costs from policing operations in the streets around the stadium, city centres and railway stations.

In it's February Meeting, the Football League Board of Directors unanimously rejected the idea with Mawhinney stating "The clubs are opposed to any suggestion that they should pay police charges outside grounds.

"Clubs are facing up to severe financial problems and are looking at various measures to help put football back onto a sound financial footing. But to put this additional onerous charge onto clubs could push some of them over the edge. In this country the cost of policing is historically met by the community as a whole, but if the Government changes the law it will be a case of those that can afford to pay will, while those who can't will go out of business."

The football cluns already make contributions to the crown in excess of £500 million a year and the ACPO believe that if this proposal went through it would cost the clubs an extra £70 million per year. £30 million is a more conservative figure though that has been placed on this.

The Premier League, Football League and the minister for sport are currently in a Home Office working group looking into issues of police charging as a whole, and Mawhinney said: "We will continue to participate actively in its (the Working Party) work as it seeks to find a more equitable way of funding police costs inside grounds."

At Swansea, we find many matches these days police free inside the ground although a walk around the Vetch area on matchdays will find a police presence - albeit for most games very small. The cynic in me would say that if this proposal was ever agreed we could find football clubs paying for most police incidents on matchdays with forces passing off anything as "football related police costs" Any agreement would have to see a line being drawn which states that it can only be for policing costs within a certain radius of the ground but I would urge the football league to stand firm on their current stance.

There are enough financial pressure effecting clubs in the lower divisions at the moment and whilst costs are relatively low in the third division, agreement to this proposal would see big matches net some clubs nothing by the time they have met all costs.

Any agreement to this proposal by the governing bodies is also likely to see the costs being passed onto the fans who are already shelling out, in some cases, very high prices for match tickets. Increasing those costs, especially in the higher divisions would force some fans away from the clubs they support.

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