Fighting football hooligans

Most football fans enjoy games safely

Most football fans enjoy games safely. However, some ‘hooligans’ become so competitive for their favourite teams that they show support with violence and destruction.

Most recently, Crimestoppers published photos of football hooligans in the Most Wanted section of their website. CCTV images of 60 hooligans who caused disorder at a Carling Cup football match in the summer were placed onto the website, appealing for information about their identities. Violent scenes involving hundreds of fans broke out during and after the West Ham v Millwall Carling Cup match on Tuesday 25 August at Upton Park. A 44-year-old male Millwall fan was stabbed in the chest outside the ground during large-scale trouble.

Crimestoppers worked with the Football Policing Unit to publish the information and photographs of the fans.

According to the Home Office website devoted to hooliganism, police are trying to fight football violence by coordinating with football authorities, police, and overseas authorities. The government also keeps contact with fan groups trying to encourage responsibility and reputation.

The initiatives, which include tougher legislation, seem to be working.

The most recent statistics show hooligan arrests in England and Wales during the 2007-2008 football season decreased.

Less than a tenth of a percent of spectators at – 3,842 out of 37 million fans – were arrested for their behaviour. Of that number, only 373 were violent offences.

Crimestoppers
Crimestoppers is an independent charity and not part of the police. Call 0800 555 111 or fill out the secure Giving Information Form on the charity’s website to pass on information about crime, including football hooliganism, to Crimestoppers anonymously. Calls and online forms are not traced and no personal details of the caller are taken. This means people who pass on information will never have to give a statement or go to court.

Crimestoppers has profiles on social networking websites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Visit Crimestoppers’ blog, I spy a crime.

Tags: CCTV & VTR, crowd violence, football hooligans, football violence, hooliganism