The true cost of policing football in England & Wales

Freedom of information data from 2015-2019

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21177643
AutoresRichard Hester (0000-0001-9008-0136, University of Gloucestershire, autor de correspondencia), Jonathan Hobson (0000-0001-8081-6699, University of Gloucestershire)
Año2023
Volumen24
Número4
Páginas461-474
Fecha de publicación2023-07-04
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaPolice Practice and Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1561-4263 • E-ISSN: 1477-271X
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15614263.2022.2130310
OpenAlexW4302287965
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas24

In 2019, the reported cost of policing football, according to an infographic on South Yorkshire Police’s website, was £48 million per season with £5.5 million being recovered by the police from football clubs. These figures were discussed in Parliament and deemed accurate by politicians. Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for football policing, says police forces cannot continue to subsidise a multi-billion-pound industry. This research uses Freedom of Information requests submitted to all police forces in England and Wales to establish the true cost of football policing. The results demonstrate that previous data is unreliable, as the actual amount recovered through Special Police Services from football clubs averaged £10 million per season between 2015 and 2019. This paper shows that police forces do not have a grasp of how much is spent on football policing, and the £48 million headline figure is likely overestimated, raising concerns about the lack of transparency over the data in the South Yorkshire Police infographic. Finally, the paper calls for further research to establish the exact cost of football policing and consideration of more efficient methods of football policing that can help to reduce costs and prevent disorder, not only in England and Wales but across Europe

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