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Keeping the peace: Social identity, procedural justice and the policing of football crowds

Stott, Clifford; Hoggett, James; Pearson, Geoff

Authors

Clifford Stott

Geoff Pearson



Abstract

This paper explores the relevance of the Elaborated Social Identity Model of Crowd Behaviour and Procedural Justice Theory to an understanding of both the presence and absence of collective conflict during football (soccer) crowd events. It provides an analysis of data gathered during longitudinal ethnographic study of fans of Cardiff City Football Club-a group of supporters with a notorious history of involvement in 'hooliganism' within the English domestic Football Leagues. The analysis suggests that the perceived legitimacy among fans of the way they were policed affected the internal dynamics, patterns of collective action and overall levels of 'compliance' among the fan group. On this basis, we contend that these processes mediated both a long-term decline but also the sporadic re-emergence of collective conflict during crowd events involving the fans. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of our analysis for informing policy, practice and theory, particularly with respect to the importance of policing with consent as a route to conflict reduction in domestic football. © 2011 The Author.

Citation

Stott, C., Hoggett, J., & Pearson, G. (2012). Keeping the peace: Social identity, procedural justice and the policing of football crowds. British Journal of Criminology, 52(2), 381-399. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr076

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Mar 1, 2012
Journal British Journal of Criminology
Print ISSN 0007-0955
Electronic ISSN 1464-3529
Publisher Oxford University Press (OUP)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 52
Issue 2
Pages 381-399
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr076
Keywords hooliganism, public order, policing, crowds, procedural justice, consent, disorder, social identity
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/971829
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azr076
Additional Information Additional Information : Published online before print: 20th September 2011