FSM
Feature
How Stadium Managers can protect their
grounds against the threat of ram raid attacks By Iain Moran, Director and Physical Security Specialist, ATG Access
During the COVID-19 induced lockdown, opportunistic criminals have taken advantage of decreased civilian and police footfall in towns and cities, which has led to a spike1 in break-ins at commercial sites.
A method of theft that has seen a particular rise in recent years has been ram-raid attacks. These attacks, referring to when perpetrators use a vehicle (e.g. a van or SUV) to ram into the windows or doors of a closed property, or into an ATM, to steal money or goods are increasingly popular. This is backed by recent research² from Cardtronics UK, which suggests that incidences of ram-raid attacks on ATMs increase by 22% each year.
As activity at football grounds continues to increase as football resumes following lockdown, meaning club shops reopen and ATMs come back into greater use, stadium managers must in turn be aware of the need to protect their facilities from this often effective and low-cost means of stealing money or goods, and take the necessary steps to prevent this.
Delving Into The Damage Of Ram-Raid Attacks While football grounds are perhaps perceived as being at less risk
from ram-raids, the glazed storefront of club shops, ATMs often situated around stadiums and high-value merchandise club shops sell, makes football grounds an attractive target for would-be thieves.
Perhaps the most infamous example of a football ground being targeted by ram-raid activity was Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in 2017, where a gang of thieves used a car and two mopeds to raid the club shop, successfully getting away with thousands of pounds worth of club merchandise.
Of course, it is not just the theft itself that costs clubs money. Ram raids cause extensive damage to windows, doors and walls, which must all be repaired to some extent before re-opening, meaning that clubs must both pay the repair fees, and lose out on income from fans visiting the ground while the facilities are closed for repairs.
For example, if Anfield – naturally a major hotspot for fans at the moment due to Liverpool’s recent title win – was to suffer such an attack, they could see a major dip to this source of income. For smaller clubs struggling with the loss of income from gate receipts this year, the financial hit would be even more damaging.
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