Football clubs should pay more towards the £70 million annual cost of policing their matches, the head of the Metropolitan Police has demanded. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley called for a "polluter pays approach" and questioned why organisers of profitable events requiring police support do not cover the costs themselves.
The call comes as Sir Mark proposed sweeping reforms to create 12 to 15 larger police forces across England and Wales. He described the changes as "the first serious reform of our policing model in over 60 years" and said the current system of 43 county forces had not been fit for purpose for at least two decades.
Police reform plans unveiled
Writing in The Sunday Times, Sir Mark argued that bigger forces would better utilise modern technology and reduce expensive governance costs. He said the 43-force model was designed in the 1960s and now hinders effective responses to today's threats whilst preventing forces from fully benefiting from technological advances.
The commissioner wants to reduce the number of forces by two-thirds, creating larger regional forces supported by modern technology. He characterised Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to increase police funding by 2.3% above inflation as "disappointing" given the scale of challenges facing forces.
Staffing cuts continue
Speaking on BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Mark revealed the Met has already cut 1,600 officers and staff over the past two years. A further 1,700 officers and staff will be cut this year, bringing total reductions to 3,300 from an organisation of just over 40,000 people.
The commissioner said he remains "nervous about whether we'll be able to make ends meet" with the current funding settlement. He warned that without reform, police may have to de-prioritise some crimes, though he insisted they remain determined to improve Londoners' daily experiences on the streets.
Football costs burden forces
Sir Mark highlighted how policing football matches costs forces £70 million annually without reimbursement from clubs. In London alone, football policing accounts for more than a third of that total cost, representing a significant drain on resources that could be deployed elsewhere in communities.
He questioned why profit-making events requiring police security support should not pay for that service themselves. The commissioner argued that local communities effectively lose police resources to football matches when clubs do not contribute to policing costs.
Wider pressures identified
The Met chief also pointed to other areas where police resources are stretched beyond core duties. He noted that 80,000 children go missing from care homes annually across the country, creating additional demands on police time and resources.
Sir Mark said new recruits expect to spend most of their time protecting the public and catching criminals. However, within two years, 80% report spending most of their time on safeguarding vulnerable people - critical work but not core policing duties.
He argued that other pressed public services have effectively pushed work onto police forces. Sir Mark insisted reforms are essential given that government spending on policing represents a much lower proportion of public expenditure than in previous decades, with little prospect of dramatic increases.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
