What do the police do at matches

[TyphoonJambo]

Just now, macker1874 said:

It's the stewards who are there to stand in front of the crowd with the police backing them up if they need it. Every saftey brief details this.

Exactly my point, everyone knows the stewards are toothless and quite simply not empowered, trained or paid enough to do anything so they pay little heed to them. It was obvious that the atmosphere was getting heated and they badly required that “ police back up” That it wasn’t provided either when articles were getting thrown, the goalie getting assaulted or smoke bombs were flying from corner to corner is the worry. Is it the case that the senior guys in the corner were screaming at their boss in the box to let them get in there?

[Sharpie]

This thread is pretty well shredding every argument I have made in the past about the true duty of the police and their proficiency in carrying out those duties. Yesterday I watched the game on tv a long way away,  I thought it was due to distance, but it was also due to the times. Never in my days of policing a football game at one of Edinburghs grounds would either of yesterdays highly publicised incidents not have had a sergeant or inspector ordering constables into the crowd to arrest the suspect, and that arrest would probably have been carried out.

The comments about change have proved so true, my first experience of it was arriving in Vancouver with twelve years police service and three years army service, I was told at thirty two years of age I was too old. Recently in another forum I read about a man who had retired from the army in his forties and was hired by his local police Department in England. Here it is the same no age barriers, the police seem to now be more of a politically correct organisation, more afraid of upsetting the new order and incurring in any way criticism, it has certain attributes I am sure, but the public perception of the police almost internationally is not what it once was.

[rubyruby]

The formless hobo who hit Bobby was standing near stewards who were also just standing there gormless. A guy sitting near me said "Maybe the front 2 or 3 rows should be left empty behind the goals so that there's no physical contact"

[macker1874]

13 minutes ago, TypoonJambo said:

Exactly my point, everyone knows the stewards are toothless and quite simply not empowered, trained or paid enough to do anything so they pay little heed to them. It was obvious that the atmosphere was getting heated and they badly required that “ police back up” That it wasn’t provided either when articles were getting thrown, the goalie getting assaulted or smoke bombs were flying from corner to corner is the worry. Is it the case that the senior guys in the corner were screaming at their boss in the box to let them get in there?

From my experience the chief of police wants the stewards to sort everything out until they are away from the public eye. I totally agree the stewards don't get paid enough and you'll find G4S will be charging Hearts about £24 an hour per steward and probz about £28 for supervisors and they will only be getting between minimum wage and £9 an hour to be there. But like iv said you stop these people getting in in the first place half the battle is won it's clear to me that searching isn't taking place and people aren't being turned away for intoxication.

[Jocam2325]

1 hour ago, Manny1874 said:

 

Noticed this also. The two sections between the Wheatfield and Roseburn were having a fair bit of back and forward before the game which looked like escalating, there was probably one steward and no police there. 

 

On the wider point, I also wonder what the stewards were actually doing outside the ground at the turnstiles. The amount of flares which were being thrown around inside the ground, you'd think they were selling them along with the pie and bovril. 

I imagine you like many others would be the first to complain if you were routinely stopped at the tunrstile whils 19000 people were subjected to the sort of indepth search that would be required to confidently let everyone in safe in the knowledge that they had no flares/fireworks on their person. You might just have got in in time to see the goal being disallowed. 

 

Most people slating the polis and stewards haven't got a clue what they are talking about. 

 

It was the same on Sunday. As the police were taking the guys out for fighting/assaulting/spitting etc, there were many sat next to me booing and decrying the police. Not the halfwits in our support. We have some real idiots watching us. 

[Jocam2325]

Tell you what the police do that is wrong. The poor sods policing the game are likely the same ones that do proper police work at the sharp end every day. Dealing with the dregs of society daily. These same people that already work three weekends out of five. They then get one of their remaining two cancelled for football duty at no extra pay. I bet you the police charge the clubs a hefty sum for these officers though whcih they are effectively providing at no cost. Always swithered about a FOI request to both the police and the clubs to see the "overtime bill" (which will be nil) compared to what they charge clubs.  

[The Gorgie]

My brother in law is a police man or should i say officer? Anyway, hes not a football man in the slightest and has done a few games in the past for overtime. He was doing a hibs rangers game and had lots of hibs fans complaining to him about songs rangers fans were singing. He told me nothing gets done about it cause they dont actually care, they are more botherd about violence than songs. Strange last night they weren't botherd about anything.

[macker1874]

When I was a supervisor iv been bitten from an Aberdeen fan, spat at by celtic fans, had a punch thrown at me from rangers fans and nearly been fighting with Hearts and Hibs fans and the police have always been there to back us up and that's been from the order of the chief of police and the rest of the guys in the control box. So from what I seen last night the stewards weren't doing what they were meant to and the guys in the control box weren't doing there jobs properly.

[wavydavy]

5 hours ago, Crete said:

What do they do they just huddle together in the corner and watch the crowd  causing trouble ,they should be in the stands and maybe the thugs would think twice before they act like idiots.

Hide most of the time until any trouble has died down then arrest the wrong person.

[kirkierobroy]

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/756426/celtic-fans-slammed-for-throwing-fireworks-and-chanting-anti-poppy-song-at-dens-park/

 

Report of Celtic vermin chucking fireworks at Dundee supporters and singing offensive mince. It includes this from the police;

 

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “We are aware of a number of incidents at the Dundee v Celtic match at Dens Park on Wednesday October 31.

“While we can confirm that no arrests were made at the game or immediately afterwards, officers from the Football Co-ordination Unit for Scotland (FoCUS) are investigating the behaviour of supporters at the match, with a view to identifying those involved in criminal behaviour, and taking appropriate action in due course.”

 

In other words, they keep their heids doon and then review matters afterwards when it's safe to come out; exactly as some of you have been suggesting here in jest! 

 

And if it's the Old Firm, of course, usually Nuthin tae see here, move along...

[WheatfieldWarrior]

4 hours ago, Tasavallan said:

 

Like guant yellow penguins in the Antarctic, they huddle together for warmth, the smaller ones to the centre.

 

Yep, exactly like this.

[The Old Tolbooth]

On Sunday they were a disgrace, so much hassle could have been avoided had they done their job.