Wolves work closely with West Midlands Police to make Molineux a welcoming environment for all supporters to enjoy, but what can supporters do if they witness discrimination, anti-social/criminal behaviour or hate crime?
PC Stuart Ward, football hate crime officer for West Midlands Police, works alongside Wolves to follow up any discriminatory reports made by supporters on a matchday, whether that be in person or via text.
• Text | Text 07723 479887 and start the message with WOLVES.
• In person | Report to your nearest steward or police officer.
Reporting is simple and goes a long way to making Molineux a more inclusive and safer place to watch football, and PC Ward now guides wolves.co.uk readers through the six stages of reporting an incident, and crucially following it up to remove hate crime from Molineux.
#1 Reporting an issue
“When an incident occurs, supporters in grounds always have the option of reporting to a police officer or a steward, who would radio to the control room and the safety officer would formulate a plan with the police commander to identify the individual with a view to arrest. Wolves supporters also have the option of using the Not In Our Pack text line.”
#2 The report being followed up
“If someone reports an incident, it goes into the safety officer and the matchday incident management system which is monitor continually throughout the game. There might be a bit of a conversation about the report – a description, the supporter’s location, what’s been heard or seen, and once the club have all those details, they’ll have a conversation with the police commander in the control room to find the best way of going forward, the situation will also be CCTV monitored in real time from the control room and through equipment like body worn video.
“The stewards would then head towards that part of the ground and ask the individual to move from their seat into the concourse, and maybe out of the stand, the situation can also be passed over for police intervention.”
#3 Action at the time
“The police will make a decision on whether to arrest them or not considering details of the incident. If the individual is then arrested, they will go into police custody, and we’d need a follow up conversation with the person who made the initial report. It tends not to be during the game because supporters have paid their money to watch Wolves play, so they understandably don’t really want to leave their seat to make a statement and it tends to be a follow up later after the game or on the Monday.
“I’ll introduce myself and make them aware I know about the incident, and I have a conversation about if they want to give a statement, explain the process and see if they want to go to court and take any further details from them about the incident.”
#4 Providing evidence
“Some supporters I speak to, after they’ve reported via text message into the control room, don’t want to provide a statement. They think they’ve reported it, and the club can now issue a ban, or the police can take over, but from a criminal point of view, we’re relying on evidence – statements and CCTV.
“Without a supporter willing to give a statement, we can’t progress that matter because we have no evidence. Without any evidence, it wouldn’t reach the court. I would like to encourage supporters to give statements because them just reporting it isn’t enough, unfortunately. The more witnesses we have, the stronger the case is to try and prosecute someone in court.”
#5 Supporting the report
“Once the supporter gives a statement, it gets typed up, and if they’re happy they sign it and once it’s signed, that’s it from their point of view unless it goes to court, and unless the suspected individual pleads not guilty.
“Then I’d just have a further conversation about giving evidence in court, which is where it can fall down if they are not comfortable doing that. For anyone feeling uncomfortable, we can put special measures in place like screens, so they’re not seen and there’s no interaction.”
#6 Suitable punishment
“If a case goes to court, and they’re found guilty, because it’s happened at football, the police will apply for a football banning order, which if issued by the court, stops that individual from attending all games in the UK for a minimum of three years. It places heavy restrictions on that supporter, they have to hand their passport in when England are playing abroad or Wolves are playing overseas, for example.”
As of 1st April 2023, 57 sanctions had been issued against supporters across the 2022/23 season, ranging from 29 written warnings to three indefinite stadium bans, thanks in many cases to supporters as well as staff and stewards reporting incidents they feel require further attention.
Support is always available at any time for anyone making a report. Remedi are also available to support victims: What We Do: Hate Crime Victim Services | Remedi (remediuk.org)
Wolves remains committed to enforcing the Premier Leagues discriminatory and abusive conduct protocols, which will see any offenders banned from all Premier League grounds for a minimum of three-years from their first offence.
