Danish police practice and national football fan crowd behaviour. Dialogue or coercive force?

Abstract

With the development of the Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM), psychological theory has in recent years seen an interesting development in research on crowd behaviour. This body of knowledge authored predominantly by Clifford Stott has reformed the EU guidelines on how to best police football fan crowds at international tournaments. With onset in participant observations and interviews with Danish ultras, this paper examines the coherence between the current Danish police strategy, which is described in the National Handbook on Police Work in Association with Football Matches (2011), and the behaviour of Danish football fan crowds containing ultras group members. Agreeing with the overall guidelines in the ESIM, this paper points out some shortcomings in the National handbook and recommends elaborating certain aspects of it as well as adding a section on six ideal types of football fan crowd behaviour.

Notes

1. Scholars such as Dunning and Patrick Murphy from the so-called Leicester School, Marsh and Armstrong are some of those who have laid the bedrock for academic research on ‘risk supporters’ (see e.g. Dunning et al., ‘Towards a Sociological Understanding of Football Hooliganism’; Marsh Aggro; Armstrong Knowing the Score). While these different scholars’ work predominantly have focused on hooligans, Stott, Adang, Pearson, Drury and Reicher have in recent years, in addition, addressed the issue of crowd disorder involving non-violent fans in a sociological perspective. Since this paper addresses a similar issue, it draws on this research groups’ work rather than Dunning, Marsh or Armstrong’s work. However, I fully recognize their contribution to the academic insight into hooliganism.

2. Joern, Homo Fanaticus; Rasmussen and Havelund, Prevention of Football Disorder – A Literature Study; Rasmussen and Havelund, Prevention of Football Disorder – An Interview Study; Havelund et al., ‘Danish Ultras’; Havelund et al., ‘Policing football’; Havelund et al., Danish Event Policing.

3. Stott and Reicher, ‘How Conflict Escalates’; Stott, ‘Police Expectations’; Stott and Drury, ‘Crowds, Context and Identity’; Stott and Adang, ‘Policing Football Matches’; Stott et al., Policing, Crowd Dynamics, Stott et al., ‘Variability’; Stott and Pearson, Football ‘Hooliganism’; Stott et al., ‘Keeping the Peace’.

4. Stott et al., ‘Variability’.

5. Stott, ‘Police Expectations’; Stott and Adang, ‘Policing Football Matches’, Stott et al., Policing, Crowd Dynamics, Stott et al., ‘Variability’.

6. Pearson, An Ethnography … , 95.

7. Stott and Reicher, ‘How Conflict Escalates’, 359; Stott, ‘Police Expectations’: 642, Stott et al., Policing, Crowd Dynamics, 1–2, Pearson and Sale, ‘On the Lash’, 161.

8. Stott and Adang, ‘Policing Football Matches’; Stott et al., Policing, Crowd Dynamics; Stott & Pearson, ‘Keeping the Peace’.

9. Havelund et al., Danish Ultras.

10. Joern, Homo Fanaticus.

11. Rasmussen and Havelund, Prevention of Football Disorder – A Literature Study; Rasmussen and Havelund, Prevention of Football Disorder – An Interview Study.

12. ‘Fraktion’ in Danish translates into ‘Fraction’ in English indicating that the group is part of something bigger. ‘64’ refers to the year Brøndby was founded.

13. Geertz, The Interpretation of Culture.

14. Fleisher, ‘Ethnographers, Pimps … ’, 53.

15. Stott and Reicher, ‘How Conflict Escalates’; ‘Crowds, Context and Identity’; Stott et al., Policing, Crowd Dynamics, Stott et al., ‘Keeping the Peace’; Stott, ‘Crowd Dynamics’; Pearson, An Ethnography.

16. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 3. [author’s translation].

17. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 5.

18. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 4.

19. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 4.

20. Rasmussen & Havelund, Prevention of Football Disorder – An Interview Study, 46.

21. Havelund et al., Danish Ultras; Havelund et al., Danish Event Policing.

22. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 5.

23. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 5.

24. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 6.

25. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 4.

26. Rigspolitiet, Danish Handbook, 8.

27. Schreiber and Adang, The Poles are Coming.

28. McPhail, The Myth, 159.

29. Stott et al., ‘Policing Football Crowds in England’, 260; Stott and Adang, ‘Policing Football Matches’, 4.

30. Collins, Violence.

31. Collins, Violence, 23.

32. Marsh, Aggro.

33. Stott et al., ‘Keeping the Peace’; Stott and Pearson, Football ‘Hooliganism’ .