West Midlands football clubs spend £1m on policing bills

Statistics released by West Midlands Police show Aston Villa built up the biggest bill among the region's teams, shelling out £317,000 in 2014/15 – an increase of three per cent on 2013/14.

The three professional clubs in the Black Country all showed a drop in policing costs last season. Wolves' bill was £213,900 compared with £231,400 the previous year.

Albion's policing costs fell slightly from £214,700 in 2013/14 to £213,900 last season.

Walsall's costs showed the biggest drop and fell by 42 per cent from £77,300 to £54,500.

Each season an annual charging agreement is worked out between police and clubs to cover the costs of match-day policing. It is led by the Association of Chief Police Officers' guidance for football deployment and cost recovery.

An agreement determines the areas of policing the clubs pay for, which usually includes inside grounds and land in the vicinity of the stadium under the control of the club.

Costs vary according to fixture – with extra officers drafted in to police certain games, such as local derby matches.

Walsall's expenditure on police dropped partly due to the absence of the local derby against Wolves at the Banks's Stadium, which took place when both sides were in League One in 2013/14.

Last season saw Villa face Albion twice in the space of a week at Villa Park in two highly charged fixtures. The FA Cup clash on March 7 was marred by two pitch invasions and a mass brawl outside the nearby Witton Arms pub.

A total of 17 men were arrested for public order offences and police put out an appeal to trace 11 other supporters suspected of being involved in the trouble.

Earlier in the season Steve Sutton, stadium and facilities manager at Wolves, said figures can change year-on-year due to the risk associated with certain fixtures.

Football policing falls under West Midlands Police's events planning unit, and as part of the match-day operation police spotters are used to provide live information and intelligence on supporter groups.

They can act as a link between the police and a club's supporter community.

Spotters must have a detailed knowledge of a club's supporter community and build a relationship with them, which helps reduce the risk of disorder.