Home » CPS Thames and Chiltern News » CPS updates its policy to tackle football hooliganism

CPS updates its policy to tackle robustly football hooliganism

13/08/2009

Anyone receiving a Football Banning Order this season will not be able to actively support England and Wales if they qualify for the World Cup finals in South Africa next year,

said Carolyn Hitchcock, CPS lead prosecutor on football matters for the Thames and Chiltern area.

The Crown Prosecution Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in collaboration with the Home Office, the Football Association and the Professional Footballer's Association are committed to operate a robust prosecution policy for football related offences during the next season and beyond.

Carolyn Hitchcock said: "There is a place for good natured banter in football between rival supporters but where the line between humour and offensive behaviour is crossed then positive action will be taken. Genuine football supporters should not have their enjoyment of the matches spoilt by the offending behaviour of a minority attending matches and causing trouble."

"As well as prosecuting offences of violence, disorder and criminal damage we will deal robustly with cases of racist indecent chanting and other types of hate crime.  We will apply for Football Banning Orders against those guilty of these offences as well as ticket touting. 

Members of the community whose homes and businesses are close to football grounds have the right not to have their lives disrupted by football hooliganism."

The prosecution policy on Football Related Offences signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer and Andrew Holt, Assistant Chief Constable, ACPO lead on football matters has been so far widely recognised by other jurisdictions as the most effective in this field.

Carolyn Hitchcock works closely with her police counterparts and contacts at the prominent football clubs in the Thames Valley area including Oxford United, Reading Football Club, Wycombe Wanderers and the MK Dons to tackle football-related violence and hooliganism.

Andy Holt, Assistant Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police and ACPO lead on football matters said:

"Hooliganism is much less of a problem than in the past. Football Banning Orders have been very successful, with less than 10 per cent of those who are issued with banning orders re-offending.

"There are however a small minority of people who engage in football related violence and disorder, causing a risk to the safety of the vast majority of law abiding football supporters. ACPO and police forces have been working closely with the CPS to tackle football related violence and hooliganism and to identify such individuals and bring them to justice. This is particularly important in the run up to the World Cup next year."

Ends

Notes To Editors

1.For further information or to arrange an interview with Carolyn Hitchcock, who will be available between 3 and 4pm today, please call Communications Manager Lucy Chapman on 07764 212062.

2.The Crown Prosecution Service is the independent authority responsible for prosecuting criminal cases investigated by the police in England and Wales. It is responsible for:

  • Advising the police and reviewing the evidence on cases for possible prosecution
  • Deciding the charge where the decision is to prosecute
  • Preparing cases for court
  • Presenting cases at court

3.The CPS consists of 42 Areas in total, each headed by a Chief Crown Prosecutor (CCP). In addition there are four specialised national divisions: Organised Crime, Special Crime, Counter Terrorism and the Fraud Prosecution Service. A telephone service, CPS Direct, provides out-of-hours advice and decisions to police officers across England and Wales. The CPS employs around 8,400 people and prosecuted 1,091,250 cases with an overall conviction rate of 85.1% in 2007-2008. Further information can be found on our website: www.cps.gov.uk

4.The CPS, together with ACPO and media representatives, has developed a Protocol for the release of prosecution material to the media.  This sets out the type of prosecution material that will normally be released, or considered for release, together with the factors we will take into account when considering requests.  The Protocol is published on our website at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/agencies/mediaprotocol.html