Police Scotland Sporting Events - Pre-Read PDF 2024

OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1...

OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Lesson Aim: The learner will be able to explain considerations in the policing of sporting events and associated offences Learning Outcomes: Introduction On successful completion of the lesson, students will be able to:- This pre-read relates to sporting events. In a policing context this is likely to be a football 1. Explain the Police roles and responsibilities match, which is legislated within the terms of before, during and after a designated the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) sporting event. Act 1995. The legislation used for sporting events may differ from normal but the basic principles remain:- to ensure the safety and well-being of all those involved (including Police Officers), to maintain the law, prevent offences occurring and to ensure there is minimal disruption to all who reside and work within the area of the event. You may be involved in policing sporting events on a regular basis or deployed only occasionally. This will depend on where you are stationed. However, it is important that you are aware of your responsibilities, the safety issues involved with these events and what your role will be, in normal and emergency circumstances. 1 th Amended 14 March 2024 v.3 OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Prior to any sporting event you will be provided with a briefing and your role will be identified. This could be inside or outside the ground and can include a specific patrol, crowd control, parking control, escorting spectators or traffic control. An operational order is compiled and made available via the Police Scotland intranet. This outlines your duties and can also provide a list of likely offences and the powers available to you in relation to them. It should be noted that local residents and others in the community surrounding the event venue (e.g., a football stadium) should be able to continue with their business with as little disruption as possible. Depending on the nature of the event you may commence duty several hours before the scheduled start time and how/ when a crowd disperses will likely determine when your duties are concluded. As with any large scale event, intelligence is gathered and the nature of the event is studied and an evaluation made to assess factors such as how many spectators are attending, how many are travelling to the event and what the previous history of such an event has been. The assessment takes into account other conflicting events or issues which may impact on the event. From all of this, a grading and risk assessment determines the number of police officers required for duty. Although Police Scotland has extensive experience of such events and will have graded events and carried out risk assessments previously, being deployed to an event is not just about the sporting occasion. The situation both before and after the event are also important, e.g., spectators have to arrive and disperse safely. This involves detailed planning to allow the best use of officers and other resources to safely facilitate the event. This lesson note describes likely duties you may be tasked with either:- Within the venue, or Outside the venue 2 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read There are specific functions and requirements for each area and these will be broadly covered in terms of before, during and after the event. Remember, the nature of the event will dictate which policing requirements are necessary. The operational order can be accessed via the Events and Operations tab on the main Force intranet page. It is the duty of every constable to read and familiarise themselves with the Operational Order prior to attending the event. This will outline the chain of command, serial groups, roles and responsibilities for the event. 3 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Within the Venue Prior to the Event A number of security checks will have already taken place to ensure that the venue has no identifiable hazards present. This may include suspicious packages, abandoned or suspicious vehicles and rubbish/litter which could be a potential fire hazard or used as a weapon. A check will also have been made of the turnstiles and emergency exits to ensure they are in good order. P.A. systems and other means of communication will also have been checked to ensure they are operating correctly. It is important to remember that your primary role is to support and provide assistance to the stewards and event security staff and deal with any criminal matters rather than perform the role of a steward or event security staff. You should familiarise yourself with the teams that are playing and the colours they wear. This will assist you to identify which team a group of fans support. All modern grounds have a segregation policy which should be strictly adhered to for safety reasons and the prevention of trouble. It is imperative that you familiarise yourself with the venue; you may be directed to go to another part of the ground as a matter of urgency or asked by fans for direction to the appropriate part of the ground. Knowledge of where the first-aiders and ambulances are based will help, should urgent medical assistance be required and it will be necessary to provide a clear location when reporting incidents or seeking assistance. There will be an arrest policy for offences such as running onto the playing surface. The Operational Order will provide details of this policy and instructions on where to take arrested persons. Walking an arrested person around the track surrounding the playing surface can raise tensions and impact on crowd dynamics, so this should be considered and the most appropriate route taken. 4 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Emergency Situations If an emergency situation develops, it is important to know where the emergency exits are located. A coded warning in the form of a “SAFETY OFFICER ERIS” message will be transmitted to all emergency personnel. ERIS is a mnemonic for:- Emergency Response In Stadium An example being "Safety Officer Eris report to the control room". This would be a general warning that something was happening somewhere in the stadium, and further warning messages will be broadcast to direct officers to the incident. There will be a designated safe route for emergency vehicles to provide a quick and unhindered route to the stadium if required. It is essential to be aware of this route and to ensure it remains clear at all times. There will also be rendezvous points for emergency vehicles should the venue require to be evacuated for any purpose. Conclusion of Event At the end of the event there are several tasks which will have to be carried out. Security staff, with the assistance of police officers, will oversee the safe dispersal of the fans from the venue. Sporting grounds have set requirements for the clearing of grounds and this should be concluded relatively quickly. Depending on the outcome of the event there may be increased tension or anger and this will have to be managed. In some instances it can be the policy to disperse one group of fans, retaining the other group within the stadium until the others have dispersed. Your duties will have been specified and once you have completed them you should report to the Control Room for further advice. It may be the case that you and your colleagues can be “stood down" at this point or you may be tasked to assist at another area. 5 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Outside the Venue Prior to the Event The nature of the event will dictate exactly what policing requirements are needed outside the venue and what time duties will commence. For football matches there will be set procedures for the arrival of spectators. Local fans may well walk to the ground from certain directions and may frequent certain pubs or clubs prior to the start time of the match. These fans will be aware of how best to get to the stadium and where their allocated part of the stadium is. Visiting spectators will arrive by a number of methods; private car, supporter’s buses, train and other public transport. There should be designated car parks close to the stadium for these vehicles and spectators will generally go straight to the ground. The duties of a constable tasked out with the ground may include:- Traffic Control It is imperative to ensure that traffic flows with as little disruption as possible. Routes to the stadium from certain directions will already have been planned and signposted and incoming event traffic should follow these routes. Your duties at this time will be to ensure that all vehicles travelling to the event are directed accordingly. Car and bus parking duties Where possible, cars and buses will be parked in separate areas to facilitate easier dispersal at the conclusion of the event. Occupants of these vehicles may well be excited with a sense of anticipation and keen to get to the venue as quickly as possible. They should be directed to the venue in a courteous manner. Escorting visiting spectators Should large numbers of spectators be arriving by train or in the case where the bus parking area is not located close to the ground, spectators may require to be escorted to the ground. While the majority of spectators will wish to proceed directly to the venue some may wish to visit a local pub or shops for food etc. and again their human rights must be regarded. 6 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Turnstile Duties If you are tasked with turnstile duties, it is your role to ensure that spectators enter in an orderly manner and that none are in possession of any controlled containers, fireworks, etc. You should also look out for people who are drunk and are in the concourse (relevant area) or attempting to enter the ground. Again you will have to be courteous and where necessary firm, when you wish to search persons entering. Should the event be admission by ticket only, you should be aware of what the tickets look like and be alert to forgeries. Specified Patrol If you have been tasked with a specified patrol then you must pay attention to what is happening in that area. It may be an area where opposition spectators converge on each other with the potential for trouble. You may have to watch several public houses where there could be disorder or where tensions are rising. Any signs of potential trouble should be reported to the relevant control room. If you are patrolling a specified area then you should be aware of the usual offences such as breach of the peace, vandalism, assaults, alcohol related offences, urinators, illegal parking and street traders. During the event, patrolling officers may be required to go to an area of the stadium and be deployed as a reserve body, which may entail further directed duties. Alternatively they may have to remain on patrol outside the stadium for a number of obvious reasons. There is a potential that thieves and vandals may target parked cars and buses as these vehicles will generally be left unattended for several hours. Patrols of the surrounding area should also be made to deter similar acts and other acts of anti-social behaviour by people not attending the event or by those who have been refused entry. It is not uncommon for members of various “Risk” elements to have made prearranged meetings to hold a fight in the area of the stadium during the event and you should be aware of crowds starting to gather. Police dogs are regularly used in policing sporting events. In general they are used as a visible deterrent, however should the need arise they can be utilised in public order situations. Although police dog handlers may attend sporting events e.g. football matches, they will not be deployed inside the stadium unless they are authorised by the Match Commander and only in exceptional circumstances. 7 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Conclusion of the Event At the conclusion of the event you may have a specific role to carry out. Again depending on the nature and outcome of the event this may be concluded quickly or unfolding events may determine how long this will take. If there have been incidents of crowd disorder before or during the event you will be notified that there may be further issues later and extra resources should be made available. Other contingency plans may be put into place. Generally all spectators will wish to vacate the stadium and surrounding area as quickly as possible making their way to car and bus parks, train stations and other public transport. If you are on traffic duty it may be necessary to temporarily close certain roads or stop traffic to facilitate the exit of cars and buses away from the event as quickly and safely as possible. Officers may have to escort spectators back to the buses or railway station and again officers should be vigilant of the potential for acts of disorder and other offences. When the officers are stood down from their duties, any minor problems should be made known to a supervisor so that it can be rectified for future events. Any intelligence that has been gathered should be fed into the appropriate system as soon as possible so that it can be analysed and, where necessary, action taken. Likely Offences There are a large number of offences that you may encounter when you are involved in these duties most of them will be general offences but some may have specific connection to the event or area of the event:- Breach of the Peace Assault Vandalism Litter offences Urinating Alcohol related offences Possession of alcohol Possession of controlled container Possession of a firework Hate Crimes 8 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Culpable and Reckless Conduct - Discharge of a Pyrotechnic Article Offensive weapons Street Traders licence offences Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976 offences Drinking in designated areas Public Order Act 1986 Section 18 - Use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or display written material which is threatening, abusive or insulting with intent to stir up or is likely to stir up racial hatred. Whilst it may be competent to deal with some of these offences under the fixed penalty notice system, the Lord Advocate has issued guidelines that such notices should NOT be issued when the offence is “football related”. 9 General Police Duties OFFICIAL  OFFICIAL Unit 7 Lesson 5.1 Sporting Events - Pre-Read Review: You can explain police roles and responsibilities before, during and after a designated sporting event. Learning Log: How will what you have learned in this module impact your day-to- day role? Are there any skills or knowledge you would like to develop further following this module? End of Module 10 General Police Duties OFFICIAL