Revealed: Tactics used by football hooligans in Cambridge in cat and mouse game with police
By Cambridge News |
Monday October 03, 2016
By RAYMOND BROWN
Tactics used by Cambridge United and Luton Town FC football thugs have been revealed as they play a cat and mouse game with police in a bid to clash on the streets.
The strategy was laid bare after Cambridgeshire police put in place a dispersal order for the last match between the U's and bitter rivals from the Bedfordshire club.
A massive list of streets in the city were named where police were granted special powers to disperse any groups suspected of causing anti-social behaviour.
The order has now been revealed using freedom of information laws after a request by policing campaigner Richard Taylor, of Milton Road who was checking if police had dispersal powers to ask former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson to leave a city centre pub.
Mr Robinson was issued with a section 35 dispersal order, which allows police to exclude someone from a certain area, if they fear crime or anti-social behaviour is going to happen.
The order says: “Cambridge United Football Club played at home today. The away team was Luton Town FC. The fixture is considered to be a local “derby" and has been a sell-out. It has been graded a Cat “C" match and there is appropriate staffing in place due to a history of actual or attempted disorder experienced on the fixture date between opposing fans before, during and after the match.
“A minority group within the Cambridge and Luton supporters have a history of actively trying to meet with like-minded supporters from the opposing team with a view to engage in violence or disorder."
Police asked for the order after “gesturing between the two risk groups" during the match.
The order says: “A group of Cambridge youths have tried to “ambush" a group of Luton risk fans as they have walked along East Road. The Cambridge fans have been contained by police officers escorting the Luton risk, but some of those Luton fans have now disappeared into the city.
“Both groups are highly mobile and have utilised taxis and private vehicles to move about the city and therefore they are not restricted to using licensed premises in the city centre."
The order was made for flashpoint sites including the football stadium, rail station, city centre and licensed premises.
The authorisation was granted for 5.30-9pm on August 27 by Insp Matt Johnson.
A force spokesman said: “Section 34 dispersal powers are a tool we can use in a wide variety of situations to prevent anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder, and to keep the public safe.
“The majority of fans who attend matches at Cambridge United do so in a peaceful way but unfortunately there are a small minority who do wish to cause trouble.
“Dispersal powers were authorised following the match against Luton Town in August after a confrontation between two small groups of opposing fans. The powers were authorised in order to keep rival fans separate and to ensure the on-going safety of other fans and the wider public.
“We carefully consider all tactics available to us to prevent issues from arising and Section 34 orders are among those which we can and will use to keep fans and the public safe and prevent crime from occurring."
Mr Taylor said: "I asked for a copy of the dispersal order to be released having seen video footage of former EDL leader Tommy Robinson apparently being asked to leave the city of Cambridge by the police following the Luton Town vs Cambridge United football match.
"Ordering someone to leave a city is significant power to hand to police officers and I wanted to see if there was in-fact a dispersal order in place, and if so why its imposition had been deemed proportionate.
"I was surprised to read that the police feared some football supporters were actively seeking to engage in violent disorder in Cambridge, going to the lengths of using taxis and other vehicles to move around the city to arrange fights. I was shocked to hear the police believed Cambridge fans at sought to ambush visiting supporters on East Road.
"There was been no suggestion Tommy Robinson was engaged in the kinds of activity the dispersal zone was intended to tackle yet he was the target of police action which cited the order. It has taken about a month to obtain this dispersal order from Cambridgeshire Police.
"I would like to see the orders publicised as soon as they are put in place, or even before if they are pre-planned, along with the justification and maps of the affected areas. Maps are useful to show people the area they have been ordered to leave, it is very difficult for people given a list of streets to describe a zone to work out what is being required of them.
"I'm uncomfortable with the police being given special powers that those they are used against have no way of knowing are in-force; this isn't just a problem with dispersal zones, but a range of police powers which are only authorised in certain circumstances.
"In cases like this where a dispersal zone is imposed as a result of developing events I would like to see elected representatives publicly review its imposition and use afterwards. I would also like to see routes for immediate appeals against orders to be made, in the first instance to senior police officers.
"Dispersal orders have the potential to separate people from groups of friends who they have travelled to places they are unfamiliar with, and impose a significant restriction on people's liberty so they should not be used lightly. If people think they have been wrongly, and unfairly, given a direction to leave an area, or a city, they should be able to challenge it."
Cambridge United Match Day Dispersal Area boundary:
A1134 Victoria Road (from j/w Huntingdon Road to Mitchums Corner)
A1134 Milton Road (from j/w Mitchums Corner to j/w Highworth Avenue)
A1309 Milton Road (from j/w Highworth Avenue to j/w Green End Road)
Green End Road (from j/w Milton Road to j/w Cam Causeway)
Cam Causeway, through footpath into Cheney Way
Cheney Way (to j/w Fen Road)
Fen Road (from j/w Cheney Way to unnamed lane, 450m north-east of level crossing)
Unnamed lane (from j/w Fen Road, crossing the River Cam, 250m south-east, to High Street, Fen Ditton)
High Street, Fen Ditton (from River Cam to j/w B1047 Ditton Lane)
B1047 Ditton Lane (from j/w High Street to A1303 Newmarket Road)
A1303 Newmarket Road (from j/w B1047 to j/w A1134 Barnwell Road)
A1134 Barnwell Road (from j/w A1303 Newmarket Road to j/w Coldhams Lane)
A1134 Brooks Road (from j/w Coldhams Lane to j/w Brookfields)
A1134 Perne Road (from j/w Brookfields to j/w Cherry Hinton Road)
Cherry Hinton Road (from j/w A1134 Perne Road to j/w A1307 Hills Road)
A1307 Hills Road (from j/w Cherry Hinton Road to j/w Brooklands Avenue)
Brooklands Avenue (from j/w A1307 Hills Road to A1134 Trumpington Road)
A1134 Trumpington Road (from j/w Brooklands Avenue to j/w A1134 Fen Causeway)
A1134 Fen Causeway (from j/w Trumpington Road to j/w A1134 Newnham Road)
A1134 Newnham Road (from j/w Fen Causeway to j/w Silver Street)
A1134 Queens Road (from j/w Silver Street to j/w Madingley Road)
Madingley Road (from j/w A1134 Queens Road to j/w Lady Margaret Road)
Lady Margaret Road (from j/w Madingley Road to j/w Mount Pleasant)
Mount Pleasant (from j/w Lady Margaret Road to j/w Castle Street)
Castle Street (from j/w Mount Pleasant to j/w A1134 Victoria Road)
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