Scottish Government statistics on banning orders proof existing laws work

In a week when the topic of behaviour at football grounds has been dominating the headlines of organisations such as the BBC, STV, The Daily Record and The Scottish Sun... I stumbled upon an article in the 13th November edition of the Scotland on Sunday which has strangely gone unnoticed by the majority of the mainstream media. The headlines of these four organisations have focused mainly on Celtic and its fans, with a police force employee never far away from explaining that new laws are necessary to tackle the problem of offensive chanting at the club. The article in the Scotland on Sunday reported new statistics released which show that more than double the amount of Football Banning Orders (FBOs) have been issued to Rangers fans in comparison to Celtic fans. FBOs are used in the fight against criminal behaviour relating to football with most being issued for violent and sectarian offences. Let me be clear, I'm not trying to paint Rangers in a bad light but it's curious that in the wake of these statistics being released that Strathclyde Police have gone on an week long offensive against The Green Brigade and the rest of the Celtic support when this group of people only face punishment of sporting consequence in relation to the alleged singing. Why not focus on their own hard work in bringing supporters from all clubs to task for behaviour which goes over the line of existing legislation?

One hundred and seventy seven football banning orders have been issued since 2006 with fifty alone coming between April and October of 2011. Police forces nationwide are clearly applying existing laws in their crackdown against the problems which blight Scottish football. A question has to be asked that if FBOs are shown to be working in conjunction with convictions for violent and sectarian crimes across Scotland, what is the aim of the proposed Offensive Behaviour Bill? A Scottish Government evaluation of the FBOs concluded that the implementation of them is improving over time. Speaking to the Scotland on Sunday, Scottish Labour MSP and former police match commander Graeme Pearson said, "The biggest threat to a fan is not imprisonment, it is not being able to go and see his team. While everyone wants an end to the evils of sectarianism that is no excuse for poor legislation and there are huge concerns about the potential unintended negative consequences of the SNP’s plans. We must fully use the powers in place to deal with sectarianism before deciding whether there is need for further measures.” This common sense has been absent from most of the debate dominating the headlines recently.

It seems that the club and the fans themselves are now embroiled in a high stakes political dogfight which has relevance only in the corridors of Holyrood but has consequences for us all. The bill can't be seen to fail no matter how ugly it is turning out to be. The SNP and Strathclyde Police have set the tone in the media all week in pursuit of attaining credibility for the bill. Joe O'Rourke of the Celtic Supporters Association has stated tonight that statistics released tomorrow will show that most sectarian offences in Scotland relating to football happen at Celtic Park. Whether or not this is an attempt to further emphasise the need for new legislation through carefully placed spokesmen in the press remains to be seen. These statistics will appear only weeks after it emerged that records on sectarian crime in the period 2005 to 2009 have been destroyed. A previous study published taking some of these statistics into account showed around two-thirds of offences were directed against Catholics, with 80% of offences committed in Glasgow or Lanarkshire. The majority of these took place away from footballing activities. This week has been a masterclass demonstration from the Scottish Government in how to shape popular public opinion. It would be interesting to see other media organisations report on the FBOs in conjunction with these new statistics tomorrow and ask for comment on those opposed to the bill. Surely only then can the wider Scottish public form a balanced view on what is trying to be pushed through by the SNP? The language from all sides of this affair seems to be escalating by the day and the varying positions are only becoming deeper entrenched. It's time to have a grown up debate on the issues and not shower the influential mainstream media with one side of the argument. This only provokes defensive response from those you are claiming to try to engage.

You can find the full Scotland on Sunday article here: http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/politics/probe_into_celtic_fans_as_rangers_top_ban_league_1_1963278

You can find Joe O'Rourke's statement here: http://www.thecsa.co.uk/showthread.php?t=497

You can find a PDF document of a July 2011 Scottish Government evaluation of FBOs here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/354566/0119713.pdf