Security at High-Risk Football Matches

Through the research he conducted whilst writing this diploma thesis, with which he aimed to prove or refute his initial hypotheses, he established that some hypotheses were set correctly, whilst others were somewhat erroneous. The first amongst the hypotheses set, which states that the security service has too few statutory powers or that their use is excessively restricted, was confirmed, as security officers have the use of their statutory powers severely limited, and this is particularly noticeable at public gatherings of this type when carrying out superficial inspection of luggage, which security officers cannot perform thoroughly because they are not permitted to reach into the interior of luggage.

Problem

Through the research he conducted whilst writing this diploma thesis, with which he aimed to prove or refute his initial hypotheses, he established that some hypotheses were set correctly, whilst others were somewhat erroneous. The first amongst the hypotheses set, which states that the security service has too few statutory powers or that their use is excessively restricted, was confirmed, as security officers have the use of their statutory powers severely limited, and this is particularly noticeable at public gatherings of this type when carrying out superficial inspection of luggage, which security officers cannot perform thoroughly because they are not permitted to reach into the interior of luggage.

Likewise, the limitation of security personnel is shown by the prohibition on the use of other security officer means at public gatherings, and in this regard the author would particularly like to emphasise that it seems sensible to him that at least part of the security officers securing public gatherings should perform their duties armed, as past events around the world have shown that precisely such events are popular targets for terrorist attacks, which security officers without weapons can only prevent with difficulty. During the course of the research, as well as during practical training in this field, he established that security officers use their powers very little, or are superficial in their use, and this very fact partially confirms my hypothesis, which states that security services use statutory powers too little or use them unprofessionally.

The problem lies in the motivation of security personnel, as security officers are not motivated to perform their work with quality and professionalism, and for precisely this reason they perform their work quickly and often superficially, which leads to gaps in security that can quickly become dangerous or create an atmosphere in which mass breaches of public order and peace can occur. The solution to this problem, in my view, lies in raising security officers' wages, as they are currently very poorly paid despite having very responsible work and are not infrequently exposed to verbal and even physical violence, whilst at the same time security officers practically every month work at the statutory maximum of hours they can perform in the workplace, or this statutory norm is even exceeded, particularly with regard to provisions on the daily and weekly maximum of working hours performed.

Solution and Method

The last of his hypotheses, which he presented in the introduction, states that cooperation between the organiser, security service and police is good; in his experience, which he gained by performing practical work, he believes that cooperation between the organiser and security service is good, although we must not forget that these two subjects are also in a client-contractor relationship, and if the organiser is not satisfied with the work that the security service performs, they can replace it, and for this reason conflict rarely arises.

The relationship between the organiser and the police is already somewhat different, as the organiser requires permission from the administrative unit to organise such a public gathering, and for this the agreement of the police is also required, who can impose many requirements on the organiser, which the latter must fulfil in order to obtain permission from the administrative unit. The relationship is worst on the security service and police axis, as security officers often see the police only in the role of supervision, which the latter performs over private security, and therefore security officers often do not wish to share all information with police officers.

Because cooperation between private security services and the police is very important for ensuring the highest level of security, I believe that legislative changes would be sensible in the field of supervision over private security services, whereby supervision should be taken over entirely by the inspectorate for internal affairs, which would enable better cooperation between the police and private security services. To ensure security at such public gatherings as high-risk football matches, I believe that it would also be necessary to amend the legal basis for the exercise of police powers, which gives police officers the possibility of issuing a measure prohibiting attendance at sports events for a period of up to three years.

This measure is currently implemented in such a way that security officers at entrances are distributed photographs with personal data of persons against whom the police have ordered such a measure, and the security officer should refuse these persons at the entrances if they attempt to enter. However, this is very difficult to implement in practice, as the security officer cannot thoroughly perform superficial inspection of persons and luggage and at the same time thoroughly examine photographs of persons who have a prohibition on attendance at sports events. Therefore, I believe that a better solution, following the example of the English system, would be that persons against whom the police order a prohibition on attendance at sports events should, for the duration of the home club's match, be required to report to the police station.

Despite all the shortcomings listed, I believe that the Slovenian legal basis for organising public events and implementing security at them is not bad, as a perfect legal basis that could foresee all possible circumstances that can arise in the implementation of security does not exist. To ensure security, the cooperation of all those responsible whose work is securing event participants is necessary, as one single segment cannot ensure security, but each individual segment can add its own piece of the puzzle, and together the organiser, stewarding service, security service, police and others thus ensure a stable and safe environment for the implementation of the public event.

Every match is a story in itself, where countless unforeseen situations can occur, for which one must be prepared, provided that the security personnel know how to act and whom to notify.