Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis has commissioned an independent review into the way football matches are policed in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
It will be carried out by a leading, national academic on crowd safety and look at the effectiveness of the arrangements for policing local football matches.
The review will involve all three league clubs – Stoke City, Port Vale and Burton Albion – and include visits to policed games at each club’s ground.
The Commissioner has already introduced new formal audit and appeal arrangements between local clubs and Staffordshire Police as part of improving rigour and transparency in deciding on the level and costs of policing matches.
He said: “Football policing has never been an exact science and the police have to make difficult judgements when assessing football intelligence from other forces, potential risk of disorder and the numbers of officers required to ensure safety for everyone.
“At the same time, some football clubs work within very tight budgets and face financial pressures on a weekly basis which means they need to keep policing costs for fixtures as low as possible.
“This review will look at how effective the current arrangements in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are and what can be done to make them stronger and more transparent in the interest of safety, the clubs, supporters and taxpayers.
“It will be carried out by a leading national authority on the subject who is independent of policing and I have an undertaking from Staffordshire’s Chief Constable that officers will cooperate in every appropriate way.
“The review should provide clarity in the effectiveness or otherwise of current arrangements and a future model for how things could be done in Staffordshire while accounting for safety and getting best value for clubs and taxpayers.”
The review will be led by Dr Clifford Stott, from the University of Leeds, whose research on football policing and public disorder has informed policy for the Home Office, the College of Policing, the European Union and UEFA among others. It will start this month and be completed by the end of December.
Assistant Chief Constable Bernie O’Reilly, from Staffordshire Police, said: “We want everyone to be safe watching matches in Staffordshire, so we welcome this review.
“We look forward to working with Dr Stott and his team and hearing their recommendations.”
