With World Cup fever gripping the nation, Greater Manchester Police are bracing themselves for the ‘inevitable’ number of alcohol-related city centre incidents the tournament will cause.
MM can reveal that alcohol-related arrests during June in the city have been always been at their peak during World Cup or European Championship years – soaring by up to 64%.
Alcohol-related crimes spiked at 155 for the June 2008 European Championships, despite England failing to qualify for the tournament.
The dropped to just 100 by 2011, a non-tournament year, yet were at their second highest figure of 137 arrests in both June 2010 and 2012, for World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 respectively.
Chief Inspector Gareth Parkin, who is overseeing GMP’s World Cup operation, admitted that stopping such incidents is a very difficult task.
“It is inevitable that major football tournaments affect the number of alcohol-related incidents,” he told MM.
“This is due to the significant increase in people who visit town centres to watch them, mainly at licensed premises.”
The late kick-off times of matches in Brazil could also provide an added obstacle for the police in their quest to keep the streets of Manchester safe during the tournament.
England’s first match against Italy gets underway at 11pm British time, after being moved forward from a proposed 2am start, and premises are allowed to remain open for the duration of the match.
To guard against any potential booze-driven incidents, police will be carrying out extra patrols and games will not be broadcast outside on big screens.
Bars and pubs have also been advised by GMP to consider employing extra security and to serve drinks in plastic glasses.
There is also expected to be a spike in the number of domestic violence cases during the World Cup.
Inspector Parkin, meanwhile, was quick to warn prospective troublemakers.
“We have no problem with fans gathering at venues where games are being shown,” he added.
“But we will take firm action against anyone involved in disorder, and those responsible will be prosecuted.”
Image courtesy of Charles Roffey, with thanks.
