Lincs Police Comments - 617 | Vital Football

Lincs Police Comments - 617

L

Luke Imp

Alert Team
Staff member
https://www.lincs.police.uk/news-ca...wards-for-officers-outstanding-contributions/

"The start of the 2017/18 football season witnessed Lincolnshire Police coming under significant scrutiny and social media comment from supporter groups and representatives of the Football Supporters’ Federation. Moreover, Lincoln City Football Club had been promoted to League Two, which presented the force with challenges around new clubs, supporters and an increase in fixtures requiring Public Order Policing.

To meet these challenges the Lincolnshire Police Football Unit sought to reinvigorate itself by recruiting new members to supplement existing Spotters to a total strength of 10 officers. The vision from the outset was to professionalise the unit and strike a difficult balance between reassuring thousands of genuine supporters and the club community whilst relentlessly gathering intelligence and evidence around the minority risk element.

Lincoln City Football Club unfairly inherited a poor reputation from a lingering legacy of a previously well-organised risk group known as Lincoln Transit Elite and a younger group known as the Lincoln Youth Element. The Spotting Team constantly managed a real and ever present threat of violence from these two groups, disrupting their ability to influence and swell their numbers by recruiting members of a much larger and younger group known as the 617 Squadron, numbering some 200 anti-social supporters. The Spotters worked tirelessly to strike a firm but fair balance between consistent engagement with identified risk groups, gathering intelligence and evidence of offending, whilst maintaining the confidence of genuine supporters and club representatives.

Of particular note is the contribution by PC Chris Pearson who instigated, maintained and tutored officers in the effective use of social media. He also created a Lincolnshire Police Football Unit Twitter account, which has a large number of followers and continues to grow.

The Spotting Team was pivotal in securing 12 football banning orders with all but one suspect pleading guilty based on the quality of evidence gathered against them. The final suspect was later found guilty at trial."

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That bolded bit is absolutely unbelievable IMO and out of order.
 
Yeh totally out of order. There’s no fire to stoke but if there was well played police!
 
On a related note.

I live outside the County and if I'm out and about in local establishments and the conversation drifts around to football and I mention I'm an Imp. Its amazing how many people still associate the club with Lincoln Transit Elite, which obviously does not reflect well on the club.
 
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Context. Is it referring to the same group, and if so, does it refer to a minority of that group? Seems odd that the 617 has been dragged in to this, but, from an ‘outside’ view that group had appeared to swell. Wouldn’t read too much in to it - but can understand if some get quite angry with the reference. (On a positive note, a lot of good and courageous acts being acknowledged and rewarded.)
 
We sit adjacent to the 617 Squadron in Block 6 and whilst there is a lot very exuberant behaviour none of it is threatening - particularly at home games. At away games, whilst there have been a number of incidents they have been relatively small in number and dealt with effectively. Th Police generally do a really good job but some of the stewards need further training in crowd control and appropriate interventions.
 
I thought it was just a poorly written sentence and was looking to suggest that the original two groups 'boast' 200 members between them and they were self-congratulating themselves on their ability to ensure that the 617 were not infiltrated.
 
I am not sure who they were but the last 2 seasons at Cheltenham there has been a small group of idiots that have caused trouble.

The group was a mixture of old and young and they certainly were not there to watch the football.

The 617 were there but it would be unfair to say they were one of the same. I suspect they latched into the younger chaps in the 617 because they were creating an atmosphere.

They were menacing they were just annoying low life. One looked so off his tits on something a gust of wind would have floored him.

I suspect if this group had encountered a firm in the mould of the 1970s-1980s they would have required a change of underwear.

To be honest in my experience of 25 years of following home and away a fair amount of trouble is caused by heavy handed stewarding or policing. If I was being cynical I would say they were almost goaded them into it!
 
Anyone catching a train back from Nottignham two seasons ago will have seen the dog section employed... I was with my young family as the police dogs pinned us back to a train that was waiting to go to London - with the train marshall trying to tell people to step away from the platform edge so a train could depart whilst the police (with angry barking dogs) told us to get back...

Prehaps there were trouble makers amongst the lincoln fans that day, I can't say I witnessed anything other than a few lads singing lincoln songs whilst waiting for the train home. But I can tell you the police's heavy handed treatmnt put my wife and little girl off of going to away games.

If i recall correctly someone was tasered upon their arrival at Lincoln.
 
Thaddeus Griffin said:
I thought it was just a poorly written sentence and was looking to suggest that the original two groups 'boast' 200 members between them and they were self-congratulating themselves on their ability to ensure that the 617 were not infiltrated.
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Yeah I read it that way too, poor statement.
The 617 do a lot for the atmosphere on matchdays and are unfairly tarnished here.
 
The Electric Banana said:
On a related note.

I live outside the County and if I'm out and about in local establishments and the conversation drifts around to football and I mention I'm an Imp. Its amazing how many people still associate the club with Lincoln Transit Elite, which obviously does not reflect well on the club.
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I worked with a bloke, a Villa fan - and a professional accountant! - who admitted and bragged that he was/had been a football hooligan. He respected me as a Lincoln fan partly because of our shared history of GT, but mainly because of the LTE, even tho' I hadn't had the slightest thing to do with them
 
Not saying any of this is fair or true, but many of these fans won’t be threatening to us as we’re on their side.
 
The statement is wholly exaggerated I have welcomed the increase in the tempo of the atmosphere these guys have created. At the last home game, I was walking down Shakespeare Street when the 617 came out of the pub and one idiot set off a smoke bomb. He did this knowing the police were in attendance and also knew he would end up getting nicked (and miss the game!)
What I will say, as an ex police officer, is that football matches are difficult to police. I worked on a Notts Police firearms team which was also a specialist football unit. The actions of a handful of idiots can unfortunately tarnish the name of the many.
I suspect this is what has happened with these inaccurate comments. The person who wrote it has not expected it to enter such a public forum and be met with such an outcry. They now clearly have a lot of egg on their face and it does little to cement the trust between those that police us and the public.
 
I for one hope that they crack down on these hooligans so I can sit and enjoy my cupcakes in the sponsored fanzone in peace. No place for this type of thing in soccer, we might scare Danny away.
 
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