New tool against violence at sporting events

In a consolidated report, the Police Coordination Platform for Sport (PKPS) will in future look back twice a year on past events in the top football and field hockey leagues. The focus is on the assessment of violence in connection with the individual games. Travel routes and the situation outside the stadiums will also be included in the assessment, the PKPS writes. This is done from the point of view that fan violence is increasingly moving out of the stadiums into the public space.

Increased prevention

On the one hand, the comprehensive review serves to improve the exchange of information among the individual partners, but on the other hand, it also enables the harmonization of processes to prevent and combat violence at sporting events. In particular, the review should serve as a basis for analysis in order to be able to derive suitable measures from it in the medium term, it is further stated. The reporting is based on the aforementioned three pillars of security, protection and service, and thus places greater emphasis on prevention. This holistic approach is in line with the Council of Europe Convention against Violence at Sports Events, which was adopted by the Federal Council on June 27, 2018. Switzerland has been pursuing the line envisaged therein for some time, the statement said.

Fedpol event list is replaced

The reporting is prepared under the auspices of the PKPS in cooperation with the Hooliganism Division of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), which incorporates the reports of the hooliganism units of the Swiss police corps. The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) - including the transport police -, the Swiss Football League (SFL) and Swiss Ice Hockey are involved. As a result, the reporting is very broadly based and provides a comprehensive overview. The reporting, which is managed in a Fedpol IT application, replaces the Fedpol event list, which was published annually by the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (KKJPD). The event list only included events at which riots occurred and exclusively reflected the assessment of the police.

The PKPS was founded in 2016 as a body of the Conference of Police Commanders of Switzerland KKPKS. Its aim is to find a common approach to minimizing violence at sporting events and sustainably reducing police and security costs. A nationwide sports situation report is an important milestone on this path. The PKPS office is affiliated with the Fribourg cantonal police. It works in close cooperation with the hooliganism unit at the Federal Office of Police.

Source: Fedpol