Football police develop youth-risk policies as non-league clubs confront disorder

The UK Football Policing Unit is working with leagues and the Crown Prosecution Service to develop policies addressing disorder involving young football supporters, according to reporting by the Guardian. Deputy director Mike Ankers described the issue as a major policing priority, with children as young as 12 or 13 involved in antisocial behaviour and violence across the country.

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The Guardian reported that the work is likely to place additional emphasis on education through schools and community activity. Ankers said the response needed to extend beyond policing, highlighting safeguarding concerns when children travel hundreds of miles to matches. He also called for adults to take greater responsibility and questioned how children could travel such distances before being detained.

The report detailed an incident in Chester in which masked local youths pursued a taxi carrying young Hednesford Town supporters ahead of a National League North fixture. One youth displayed a blade after the vehicle had pulled away. Nobody was hurt, and police launched an investigation. The match itself passed without trouble, with Cheshire police later escorting the Hednesford group back to the railway station.

Hednesford have already taken action over repeated misconduct. The Guardian reported that the club banned 20 young supporters following trouble at Telford, three weeks after owner and chair Craig Gwilt issued an August warning about behaviour damaging the club. This season, Hednesford have also required under-16s to attend with an adult and increased matchday security. The report said those measures appeared to have contained trouble around the ground, although groups continued gathering elsewhere.

Other clubs have raised similar concerns. A Gloucester City supporter was struck by a rock thrown by teenagers at Redditch United during an FA Trophy tie two weeks before the report. Redditch chair David Faulkner called for collective action and greater support, including funding for CCTV and additional stewarding. He said shifting associations between groups of young supporters made it difficult to anticipate where problems would arise.

The Football Association told the Guardian that supporter behaviour was primarily the responsibility of clubs and the relevant authorities, while saying it was developing policies to welcome young fans safely at National League grounds. The police work remains in development: the report did not present the expected educational focus as an already implemented programme. Ankers emphasised bringing the relevant organisations together to address both disorder and the risks facing children involved.