POLICING FOOTBALL A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD


PUTTING FOOTBALL POLICING ON


Sergeant Lizzie Lewandowski talks about her role as a female football officer and why she is keen to dispel some popular myths


For many officers, the idea of taking on the opportunity to police football matches either locally, nationally or sometimes overseas, isn’t one that occurs that frequently. As it stands, there are approximately 850 operational football officers (OFOs) in England and Wales, with female officers being in the minority – West Midlands Police Sergeant Lizzie Lewandowski being one of them. Starting out her career at British


Transport Police in 2005, Lizzie has policed hundreds of football matches and is now a football unit supervisor. With football being seen as a male- dominated sport, Lizzie is keen to shed some light on the reality of a role which she is passionate about, and wants to encourage more female officers, and officers from different backgrounds, to consider giving it a chance. “Female football officers are few and


far between and I think that’s down to a few things such as people being put off by being away from home a lot,” she explained. “While you cannot get away from working weekends and going away from home, if you become an operational football officer the accreditation requires you to do two away


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games and not all away games are overnight. We have a number of female operational football officers with young children. “I also think potentially women feel it is


a bit of a boys’ club and a closed shop, but that hasn’t been my experience at all, and I have always felt very welcomed by my male colleagues.” During her time at West Midlands, Lizzie has been an operational football officer for Wolverhampton Wanderers for five years and worked overseas during the UEFA Europa League for a season before Covid struck. But her most challenging experience to date was policing the England final at Wembley. “The England final was a real eye-opener and one of the hardest days I’ve had at work. There was a huge amount of disorder and as an operational football officer you are the first person there before the public order officers arrive,” said Lizzie who has been an operational football officer for England for a year.


“I’ve worked hundreds of football


matches over the years but that is one that really sticks out in my mind.” Another challenge faced is tackling misogyny directed at not just female officers, but also the staff working around the


grounds, from stewards to those in the kiosks. Lizzie added there is still a toxic masculine environment in football, but through ongoing work lead by the United Kingdom Police Football Unit in collaboration with the Premier League, the English Football League and the Crown Prosecution Service, a proactive approach is being taken and toolkits are being created to encourage everyone to report this unacceptable behaviour. It is also a “more risky job than it used to be” with a rising tide of violence, according to Lizzie who says that at least 20 officers were assaulted last season in at West Midlands Police, which is higher than usual. But the majority of fans are friendly: “I would say 99 per cent of people who attend football are friendly,” she said. “You deal with lots of people week in, week out, and the fans become your community. We develop relationships with disabled supporters, and we get involved in a lot of community initiatives, so it is rewarding in that sense, and it is not just about enforcement and investigating crimes. “Another nice thing about football policing is you feel like a massive team. It’s coordinated by the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit, but we share information nationally and you build friendships with people and meet football officers from other forces. It’s very much a football family and those close-knit teams don’t always exist in other policing units.” Lizzie is now working alongside the


United Kingdom Police Football Unit to find ways of attracting more officers into the role from a variety of backgrounds. “If you like public order policing and enjoy


operational uniform policing, it’s definitely a really good opportunity,” she continued. “When I joined the police, I never thought I would get the opportunity to travel abroad to help police matches. I never thought I would have those experiences and it really is a privilege to represent British policing.


“It is a really varied role, and no two days are the same. I love my job and I think it’s the best job in the police force.”


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