Security has always been a challenge and a high priority for football clubs. But, just like in many other sectors, the threats facing football clubs are constantly evolving. Where once the biggest issue was hooliganism, now the threats to match day security include drugs, pyrotechnics, pitch invasions, political protests and, of course, terror attacks.
It’s a complex picture, which requires a co-ordinated, multi-faceted approach to safeguarding people, securing the ground, and protecting the club’s commercial and reputational best interests. At SAFECROWDS, we combine wide-ranging aspects of security and counter terrorism to provide that holistic approach, offering a joined up service with single point accountability and a collaborative approach to ensuring our services meet both operational and security priorities.
Time to plan
While Martyn’s Law is not legislation yet, the time to plan for future obligations is now, and the terror threat is currently ‘substantial’, which means an attack is ‘likely’.
At SAFECROWDS we can help football clubs identify their security and terror threat vulnerabilities so that security planning is targeted and co-ordinated. This includes our Threat Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (TVRA) and Vehicle Dynamics Assessment (VDA) services, carried out by our Head of Counter Terrorism & Risk Jonathan Neal or one of our Counter Terrorism Executives. It’s important to note that a risk assessment for match day security should include more than the threat of vehicle as a weapon attacks and traffic management incursions; our TVRA process also considers threats such as hostile reconnaissance, improvised explosive devices and marauding attacks, so that we can proactively suggest any measures that could be taken to mitigate risk with security or operational planning and implementation.
With integrated security and counter terrorism knowledge and resources, football clubs that engage SAFECROWDS offers an approach that optimises both security and their budget.
Training
Training is one of the core principles of the proposed Martyn’s Law legislation, because a team that is trained to understand the threat is much more prepared to make rapid and potentially life-saving decisions should the worst happen.
At SAFECROWDS, not only are our team trained in first aid and ACT (Action Counters Terrorism), but we have our own Highfield and QNUK certified Training Academy and we recruit staff local to every club we work with, leveraging our community connections, and train them in-house to high, accountable standards.
Our Head of Academy, Anthony Doe is from a military and private security background and our Head of Counter Terrorism and Risk is an AET-certified trainer with a background in counter terror policing. Together, they co-ordinate our training provision, which includes counter terrorism training and bespoke table top exercises to test counter terrorism plans.
Zone Ex and HVM
While vehicle as a weapon attacks are not the only terror threat that football clubs face, they are an increasingly common terror tactic. What’s more, hostile vehicle incursions are also a means for terrorists to gain access to protected areas in order to carry out secondary attacks.
At SAFECROWDS, we advise football clubs on suitable temporary or permanent HVM equipment, based on the TVRA and VDA for their ground, their operational requirements, and their budget. We offer a wide range of rated HVM systems and ensure that the performance rating is aligned to the identified risk. We also deploy our own teams to ensure that the equipment is correctly installed and supervised in the appointed locations.
HVM and traffic management are two different security requirements for match days, and SAFECROWDS provides both services, with a co-ordinated RAMS (risk assessment & method statement) and team to ensure a joined up approach.
Detecting threats with dogs
Canine detection teams are an excellent way to mitigate risk by sweeping the stadium for potential threats. SAFECROWDS is a NASDU member and we are working towards NCTAS-P affiliation, ensuring the highest standards of dog handling expertise and animal welfare. We provide explosives detection dogs for stadium security, along with pyro and drug detection canine teams and general purpose security canine teams. We are the only security company in the UK offering spiking substances detection carried out by dogs trained using real scents as part of our drug detection capability, thanks to the expertise of our Head of Canine Training and Operations, Wayne Gell and Inter K9.
Our NADSU-trained explosives dog teams can carry out sweeps of the stadium prior to the game on match days, while our pyro and drug detection dogs screen individuals entering the stadium. These services have been proven to make a tangible difference to match day security, with one of our football club clients reporting zero pyro incidents and several drug arrests since contracting SAFECROWDS for canine detection.
Security and stewarding
Experienced and suitably trained security and stewarding teams are an essential part of match day security, and SAFECROWDS has varied experience across a wide range of stadium environments; from smaller local grounds to national stadiums and everything in between.
All our security and stewarding teams are directly employed by us, and we ensure that they have completed the relevant training for their role prior to deployment. Every team member is first aid and ACT trained, and we ensure that their training is kept up to date, with full accountability for every module completed and every top up required.
We understand that the role of security and stewarding personnel at a football match is not just to keep everyone safe and secure, but also to provide a great match day experience. Our teams are trained in customer service, spectator safety and conflict de-escalation, ensuring they are part of the great atmosphere at the clubs where we support security, as well as delivering the security strategy at the ingress points, and in concourse and terrace areas.
Getting the 25/26 season ready for kick off
There is plenty of drama at the top of the leagues that still has months to play out this season, but the results on the pitch are not the only outcomes football clubs need to consider over the next few months.
Effective security and counter terrorism protection takes time to plan, particularly when there are budgetary constraints that make it essential to prioritise and identify any potential savings by taking an integrated approach.
We’re looking forward to putting in that pre-season warm up with football club clients over the next few months.
