Hotspotting and Football Violence: Current Statistics and Implications for Prevention

Abstract

Abstract The violence associated with football matches has long been acknowledged. In this chapter, we adopt a novel perspective that uses the framework of environmental criminology, whose principal concern is patterns of crime events focusing not on who engages in violence but on where and when violence occurs on football match days and why such patterns might emerge. We address questions about patterns of football‐related violence events, such as “Do hotspots of football‐related violence emerge around stadiums on match days and, if so, where?” and, related to this, “Do such hotspots (if they occur) appear in the same places (and times) on match and nonmatch days?” We present evidence that violent offending associated with football matches was clustered in space and time in data taken for a case study area. We also illustrate forms of analysis that can inform crime prevention and consider what sorts of strategies might be used to reduce this kind of violence.