Independent Advisory Group
WHUST liaises with the police through a variety of different initiatives.
Each football club has a Dedicated Football Officer (DFO) and WHUST is in regular contact with West Ham’s DFO PC Andy Sheldon.
Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) are a product of the MacPherson Report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, published in 1999. The report recommended several legislative changes including a process that aimed to create a genuine partnership with all sections of the community, encouraging the active involvement of people from diverse groups.
IAGs have evolved to facilitate this engagement. The first IAG was established by the Met Police in 1998 in anticipation of the publication of the Macpherson Report the following year. Over 20 years on from then, IAGs are now a recognized part of how the Met Police engages with communities towards improving the police service for London. Apart from football there are IAGs for people with disabilities, gun crime (Trident Advisory Group), race and LGBTQ+.
The Metropolitan Police Football Unit is based in Lambeth and covers the whole of the Met Police area (i.e. Greater London). It is responsible for policing any football match within its jurisdiction, irrespective of competition or league. Representatives from all football clubs are invited to participate in the IAG.
It allows supporter representatives from every football club in the 32 London Boroughs to offer independent advice, which it is hoped will help the police to provide a better service in their communities.
These meetings provide on-going constructive dialogue between the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and football fans. The IAG provides opportunities for questions to be asked and answered on behalf of ISA and Trust members, for strategies to be developed, discussed, explained and agreed and to develop common understandings around policing issues.
The IAG is designed to be a forum where the supporter representatives can together act as a ‘critical friend’ to the police and offer advice on development and review of police policy, procedure, and practices as they relate to football. The IAG is not party political and draws on a wide range of volunteers with a variety of perspectives.
The IAG is led by members of the ISAs and Trusts and provides a structured opportunity to build a strong, collaborative working partnership with the Metropolitan and British Transport Police to build the ‘critical friend’ relationship with football fans through their democratic representatives. Two members of the board of the West Ham United Supporters’ Trust are registered with the IAG to ensure that West Ham supporters are always represented. Currently, they are Kevin Hind and Rachel McFetridge.
Members of the IAG are subject to provisions of the Official Secrets Act and certain matters are required to be confidential.
Examples of topics covered at IAG meetings:
· Categorisation of fixtures according to risk level;
· Use of body-worn equipment;
· Legislative changes affecting the policing of football;
· Division of responsibilities between stewards and police.
The meeting in January 2024 held at Stamford Bridge included a presentation from Ramesh who described his role as a Counter Terrorism Security Adviser and explained how football fans can support the police. A summary of his presentation and answers to questions are in the link below.
Chief Inspector Simon Brooker from the Met described the risk assessment process for each match which then determines the category of the game from a policing perspective.
Minutes of the Met Police Football IAG - 4th January 2024
Summary of the presentation by a Counter Terrorism Security Adviser
The meeting in October 2023 held at Millwall FC included a discussion about the increased terrorism alert due to the conflict in Israel/Gaza and potential unrest at matches.
The police talked about risk categorisation of matches and police objection to high risk matches kicking off at 5:30pm or later. Whilst they couldn’t object to matches being played on Christmas Eve they do have concerns on matches scheduled for New Year’s Eve.
There were updates on violence against women, the drugs initiative and results from the live facial recognition technology used at the recent Arsenal vs Spurs match.
The meeting in July 2024 was held at the Met’s Lambeth HQ and included a presentation on Facial Recognition Technology and a discussion about its proposed use at football matches. Plans for the Champions League Final to be held at Wembley at the beginning of June 2024 were discussed in light of the issues that arose at the Euros Final in 2021. Other topics discussed included marches by foreign supporters to matches and some clarificarion on matches rearranged for broadcast.
The meeting in May 2023 was hosted by West Ham United at the London Stadium. Topics discussed included inappropriate searches by stewards, the Police Professional Standards Branch, ‘Tragedy Chanting’ and police involvement in changes to kick-off times.
The January meeting was hosted at the Leyton Orient Supporters’ Club and looked at Football Banning Orders, with a range of questions posed. As a response we all promoted the importance of education programmes/alternative options for supporters. Also discussed was the impact of the inclusion of Drug possession for the police and supporters and arrest statistics.
Please send any questions or issues you would like us to raise to info@whust.org
Football-related arrests and banning orders, England and Wales: 2021 to 2022 season