I had a chat today about the challenges of managing potential
football disorder away from grounds. As
always everybody was keen to remember that more than 99% of people attending
football matches are there to enjoy themselves in a way that poses no threats
to the King’s peace. A sense of
perspective is important in all public order and crowd management scenarios.
The subject of the history
of the issue came up. The problems of
the 1980s and 1970s are still fresh in the mind and the lessons that were
learned then are pretty well incorporated into modern practice. Modern public order (not a phrase I especially
like) policing and the co-operation between forces has a lot to recommend
it. Looking to the past the books by
Mike Layton on the subject are worth a look.
The particular challenge of policing fans as they travel on the railway
network has been a speciality of BTP for the whole of the history of the
force. Time consuming, expensive and
sometimes dangerous this is a difficult subset of policing wherein officers are
always outnumbered by fans and often by trouble makers. It requires a strategic oversight of who is
playing, where, and how rail routes provide points of intersection, sometimes
many miles from venues.
Retired BTP officers have plenty of tales on this
subject. From the ‘riot’ on the Koningin
Beatrix in 1986 (1) back to the weekly scenes of the near destruction
of football specials and the running battles up and down the Euston Road as
crowds were fed by the London Underground to the mainline termini of the north
of the Metropolis.
With this discussion in mind I looked at a report by the Chief
Constable of BTP to the Police Committee (2) dated 2nd May 1973.
He informed the committee that in 1972 there were 1,831
Football Trains including 1,489 special
trains and 114 Football Charters. These
ran in addition to normal passenger trains.
He pointed out that a probationary constable had been awarded the ‘Whitbread
Trophy’ (3) for meritorious work when he had used his truncheon to confront a
crowd of 200 who had trampled a female passenger who had fallen to the ground as
supporters rushed through a station. This
was a policing at its most challenging.
In describing the escort of football trains he commented:
“The officers travelling on
these trains arrive at destination (sic) with their uniforms burned by
cigarette ends, covered with spittle and other filth. Arrests are made but not so often as they
should be because arresting officers would have to take the prisoners to be
charged and thus abandon the trains, probably to orgiastic destruction”(4)
My own experience of football escorts (quite a few years
later) was mixed, but the picture and the dilemma painted in this quote are
entirely recognisable. I think this
period is sometimes referred to as ‘the good old days’!
As the years move on I would urge all members of the
emergency services to write down some of their experiences. Policing football
is but one of many many subjects of course.
History will be better informed
if we have a written record from the front line. Such texts don’t have to be literary
works. A few memories will enhance the
record for future generations. Many
organisations have History Groups or oral history projects, where notes and voices
can be preserved.
BTP is lucky to have an independent History Group (5) which
seeks to preserve the history of policing the railways, docks and canals of
Great Britain and other forces are also well served by amateur and volunteer
historians. We can better understand the challenges of
today if we appreciate how we have got to where we are.
Philip Trendall
June 2024
NOTES
(1)
The Koningin Beatrix was a new luxury ferry that
worked between Harwich and the Hook of Holland.
On 7th August 1986 large scale disorder broke out on board
between Manchester Utd and West Ham supporters during the crossing of the North
Sea. The ferry returned to Harwich to be
met by BTP and Essex police officers.
The scene was total chaos.
Considerable damage had been done to the ship and several people were
injured. After a lengthy investigation nine
people were convicted for serious public offences, including ‘Affray on the
High Seas’. It was my only experience of
dealing with offences on board a ship. A
little later BTP ceased to be responsible for policing Sealink vessels and
ports. The government now have a, vague,
plan for ferries to be policed by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in times of
terrorist threat.
(2)
Until the creation of the British Transport
Police Authority in 2004 the force was overseen by the BTP Committee.
(3)
The Whitbread Shield or trophy was presented to
BTP by J R Whitbread who wrote a book:
The Railway Policeman in 1961.
(4)
Minutes of the British Transport Police
Committee 9th January 1973.
The National Archives AN 167/919
(5)
The British Transport Police History Group
(BTPHG) is a group of volunteers that work to preserve the history of the
policing railways, docks and canals. The Group is not part of BTP but works
very closely with the force in matters historical. Although I am not currently connected with
the Group I commend the efforts of a great team of individuals. Further information can be found at www.btphg.org.uk
For further information see, for example, Tracking the
Hooligans by Mick Layton and Alan Pacey, Amberley Publishing, (2016)
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