Lancashire Police has been explaining to Beyond Radio the decision making behind their presence at the Morecambe v Bolton Wanderers match last weekend.
There was a large amount of online criticism at the police’s handling of the game, especially with a large number of away supporters attending the fixture, and whether enough officers were on duty on the day, given the incidents of disorder that occurred during the fixture.
Det Sgt Adie Knowles said it was always a balancing act of the resources they have available to them.
He said: ‘’You have to police to risk.
‘’We don’t have the luxury of throwing an infinite amount of police officers at an event. Any big event with a large crowd we have to judge and police according to the risk.
‘’There would have been in depth discussions as to what the police response needed to be beforehand, and staff would be put in place to negate the risk of disorder. Sometimes you don’t quite get it right.
‘’I’m not saying we got it wrong, just in light of what happened, sometimes you wish you had further officers to call upon. Sometimes things happen, and decisions are made on what is proportionate to staff the event.
‘’I understand people might be critical as to how many police were there, but these decisions aren’t made lightly. There is a thorough planning procedure in place.
‘’We have debrief processes in place and that will happen with this event to try and make a more informed decision in the future. But as I say, we don’t have the luxury to put loads of officers at an event to negate all risk. We just can’t police like that.’’
Six arrests were made, with one man from Manchester charged with pitch encroachment, and a man from Morecambe bailed as police investigate an alleged racially aggravated public order offence.
Eight Bolton Wanderers have received banning orders from the club for their conduct at the game.
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