PART IV - INTERIM RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPTER 23 - INTRODUCTION
Limited Objectives
304. It is important to stress the limited objectives of the interim recommendations I can make in this Report. My purpose is to propose instant measures capable of being implemented forthwith and where possible before the commencement of the 1989/1990 season. They are designed to prevent overcrowding and crushing on terraces in the short term and to improve safety procedures. They do not and cannot meet all the problems or address all the issues of post-Hillsborough football. Wider issues such as membership schemes, identity cards, all-seater stadia, super-stadia and long term recommendations fall to be considered in my Final Report. So do a number of other specific matters such as a comprehensive review of the Green Guide, the problem of excessive pre-match drinking, fans without tickets and ticket touts. I mention these matters lest it be thought I have decided no recommendations need be made concerning them. I have not. But before deciding what if any recommendations to make about these and other matters, more evidence and study is required.
305. Accordingly, the main thrust of these interim recommendations, as a holding exercise, is to reduce numbers on the terraces, to increase vigilance and to achieve a proper balance in crowd control between prevention of disorder and maintenance of safety.
Perimeter Fences
306. It would be impractical and unwise to recommend works of construction or radical structural changes now, before completing the extensive study and consultation which will form stage two of this Inquiry. Hasty interim recommendations of that kind might well prove to be ill-judged after further study and require to be changed in a matter of months.
307. In particular, I do not at this stage make any recommendation as to removing perimeter fences or replacing them with structures of different design. Understandably, there was a wave of popular feeling against such fences in the immediate aftermath of Hillsborough. The horrifying spectacle of people being crushed against the fencing focussed blame for the disaster on the fences themselves. There were pleas to dismantle them and emotive references to the fans being treated like "caged animals". Some clubs removed their fencing straightaway. It was therefore very tempting to consider at an early stage making a recommendation that the fences should be removed. I confess to being so tempted.
308. Regrettably, only a month after Hillsborough, there were incidents which showed that violence and hooliganism are still liable to erupt at football grounds. On 13 May at Selhurst Park, Birmingham City supporters invaded the pitch and fought with supporters of the home club, Crystal Palace. Five police officers and 16 supporters were injured and required treatment at a local hospital. On the same day at a match between Bristol City and Sheffield United, spectators spilt onto the pitch and there was fighting on the terraces. At the Cup Final between Liverpool and Everton on 20 May, there was a pitch invasion, albeit a comparatively benign one.
309. Even the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) felt it necessary to say in their final submission,
"With some reservations, the FSA accept that perimeter fences are necessary for crowd control."
310. Bearing in mind those matters, and the need to consider further expert evidence, I have decided that it would be unwise and premature for me to make any recommendations now either to remove or to preserve or to alter the structure of perimeter fences. I shall make recommendations about them in my Final Report.
311. For the present, I would emphasise that, although the fencing prevented escape, the real cause of the Hillsborough disaster was overcrowding and it is against that danger that my interim recommendations are primarily directed. Whilst declining to recommend the removal of the fences, I do consider that the gates to the pitch should be kept open whilst the terraces are occupied. This will have, I hope, three beneficial effects. Obviously, an open gate is a more ready escape route than one which has to be locked. Secondly, the sight of open gates will be reassuring to spectators on the terraces. Thirdly, the existence of gaps in the fencing by reason of the open gates will concentrate the minds of police officers or stewards on the track to the need for careful monitoring of those on the terraces.
