SPECIALIST prosecutors have been appointed to crack down on the football disorder which could blight the country's national game.
Solicitor General Lesley Thomson, QC, yesterday revealed the names of three Football Liaison Prosecutors (FLPs) who will lead the fight against football hooliganism.
Procurator fiscal depute Barry Dickson will prosecute cases in the west of Scotland, covering Argyll and Clyde, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Lanarkshire.
Vicki Bell will cover Grampian, Highlands and Islands and Tayside in the north and Faith Millar will deal with incidents in Central, Fife and Lothian and Borders in the east.
Mrs Thomson said: “I am delighted to introduce our team of football liaison prosecutors, who will serve across Scotland to tackle the violence and disorder that can mar our national sport.
“Such conduct at football matches is not a problem that is confined to specific areas of our country, and as prosecutors we are dedicated to deal with this criminal behaviour wherever it may occur.”
The appointments follow a successful trial period in Glasgow, where the introduction of one specialist prosecutor was recognised in a recent Scottish Government evaluation of football banning orders.
The FLPs in each area will share their expertise with police and work with officers to help improve the quality of police reports to ensure that a strong case is presented to the court.
It is hoped that this will increase the number of football banning orders being introduced, which can stop hooligans from going to games for up to 10 years.
It comes after a report commissioned by the Scottish Government revealed that of 741 banning orders recommended in police reports to fiscals over the three years of their existence to December 2010, just 322 led to convictions and 101 FBOs were issued. In 2009-10, 53% of FBOs applied for were granted on conviction.
The new prosecutors will also be responsible for monitoring existing banning orders in their areas.
Mr Dickson, FLP for the west of Scotland, was the prosecutor responsible for the Glasgow trial.
He said: “In recent years, the reputation of Scottish football at home and abroad has been tarnished by criminal offending ranging from sectarian abuse to acts of violence and serious public disorder, all of which have been committed by persons who claim to be fans of the game.
“In 21st-century Scotland if our national game is to flourish at all levels then there is no place for such conduct.”
Miss Bell, FLP for the north of Scotland, added: “The people of the north of Scotland, including families, deserve to enjoy football without having concerns for their wellbeing or safety.
“It is time for the minority to learn that using football as an excuse for violence and disorder is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Miss Millar, FLP for the east of Scotland, said she hoped the new appointments would help “eradicate” football-related disorder.
She said: “The overwhelming majority of fans are well-behaved and want nothing more than to attend or watch matches and enjoy the game and the atmosphere – let us remember that it is not just individuals who attend football matches – it is families too.
“I will take this opportunity to work closely with the police, the courts and other agencies who are committed to ensuring that such behaviour does not continue to blight the name of well-behaved supporters.”
The move was yesterday welcomed by the Scottish Football Association, a partner of the Government’s Joint Action Group on football violence.
Derek Kirkwood, head of security for the SFA, said: “We have worked closely with the Crown Office in assisting with the introduction and enhancement of football banning order provision in Scotland and, in fact, sit on the Government monitoring group.
“We are also committed members of the Joint Action Group and support any initiatives designed to improve the safety of supporters in and around football stadia in this country.”
Although just three FLPs have been appointed so far, the Solicitor General added that the numbers will be reviewed.
Specialist prosecutors have been appointed in the past to deal with sex crimes, environmental offences and incidents at work.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article