The history and the set-up of the CIV.
In 1984 questions were asked in the
Dutch parliament about the approach to football hooliganism. At the time
the ministers of the Interior and of Justice agreed that they would take a
co-ordinated and integrated approach. Among other things, a project group
was set up to make concrete proposals. It was also indicated that the
integrated approach would depend on all parties getting the information
they needed. To realise this it was decided to form a national information
centre. This information centre was to collect information on methods used
by the police, on the various organisations – like local authorities, the
police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Dutch Football Association (the
KNVB), the clubs and Dutch Railways. In particular it would focus on
measures taken, match schedules etc. It was to be an accessible
information point for all co-operating organisations.
Until that time available information
was scattered across all the many relevant organisations and institutions.
Often it was not accessible and not transparent – which did not help the
objective of co-ordination.
In 1985 the Mayor of Utrecht – in his
position as director of city police – offered the minister of the Interior
to bring the central information unit under the umbrella of the Utrecht
police. And that is what eventually happened on 1 March 1986.
Organisational embedding of the CIV in
the Netherlands police service.
First of all, let me tell you something
about the management and general organisation of the police service in the
Netherlands. There are strong links here with the position and tasks of
the CIV.
Obviously, this differs from country to
country. And this is another reason why it cannot just be translated to
another climate, structure and culture.
As I said, in 1986 the CIV was brought
under the Utrecht City Police. Back in those days we had two sorts of
civil police: municipal forces – linked to towns and cities – and the
Rijks- or national police force with certain nationwide tasks and duties
for policing smaller towns and country areas.
In 1993 the whole police set-up was
re-organised. We then had 165 independent municipal forces and the
national police were converted into regional police with nationwide,
back-up services. The Netherlands now has 25 police regions and one
national region. The regions are autonomous and are financed by the
ministry of the Interior.
The mayor of
the largest city in a region is responsible for the organisation and
management of the regional police. Among other things he or she will
account to the minister of the Interior for the finances. The minister
does not have any direct authority over the police, but, obviously, he or
she holds the strings of the purse and this gives some room for steering!
The mayor of each town or city is
responsible for public order and this duty is NOT simply delegated to the
mayor of the biggest city. So, ensuring good policing requires good
consultation between the various mayors of the various municipalities.
.
Criminal investigation is the task of
the senior Crown Prosecutor. And the Crown Prosecution Service is also
divided up into a number of national regions.
Mayors, police and crown prosecutors
consult on public order and safety at regional and local levels. And they
set the priorities for the police.
The national region is in fact a
nationwide back-up service of specialities. These include air police,
Interpol, highway police, national criminal databases etc.
Almost all the nationwide services or
specialities come under this nationwide region. But the CIV has been left
with the Utrecht regional police force.
In terms of content the head of the
regional police has no say about the CIV. He is responsible for
management. In other words the police chief is responsible for the basic
conditions that enable CIV to function smoothly – like finance, personnel
policy and so on. The ministry of the Interior gives the Utrecht regional
force funding exclusively for the CIV.
Following the 1993 reorganisation, there
was structural consultation involving all the regional police chiefs, with
the objective of fine-tuning the details. Each police chief was given a
special area of attention. So, the head of the Gelderland-Central force
got the football hooliganism portfolio. In fact, he directs the CIV and
the CIV is his advisor on issues around football hooliganism. He also has
a sort of sounding board called the Football Advisory Group. This includes
a number of senior police officers, from several regions. All of them are
experts.
We have a very pragmatic relationship
with the ministry of the Interior. Like in many countries the ministry of
the Interior is directly responsible for the whole police service – and
the CIV is a police department. But unlike other police departments we
interact directly with the ministry of the Interior. We don’t have to go
via a senior officer.
Strictly speaking, in formal terms, the
ministry of the Interior has no authority on the CIV. But as we work very
closely together, and because of the frequent questions from the
politicians, in practice we see this ministry as a “client”. We advise the
ministry of the Interior directly – without the mediation of the
responsible chief of police. Certainly, we inform him, but with our
more-or-less independent position, we do not exclusively represent the
police standpoint.
I can also make direct applications to
the ministry – perhaps for additional financing - without the mediation of
the portfolio holder or the regional chief of police. And I can also
negotiate directly with the ministry.
I think it is fair to say that the CIV
takes a unique position in the police system. This is partly because we do
not work exclusively for the police. I do not know how long this situation
will continue. An evaluation of the position, tasks, manpower and desired
quality is planned for this year. I am behind this study because I believe
that, in the end, the CIV can only come out stronger.
The organisation of the CIV.
The CIV started with one supervisor and
two staff – one fulltime and one part-time. By the early 1990s we had a
team of 4 – each with a full day’s work combating football hooliganism.
By the mid-1990s the problems had grown to such a level – especially in
1997, which I’ll come back to – that it was decided to reinforce the CIV
with two more staffers. In fact these were analysts. That brings the CIV
up to the team of 6 we have today. And it is quite possible the evaluation
of the CIV may recommend one or two more reinforcements.
As head of the CIV I’m responsible for
the unit and for its image in the outside world. Our team also includes
policy staffers, one person specialising in operational contacts, two
analysts and a secretary. Thanks to developments and demands, instead of
two fulltime analysts, we have analysts with a definite ICT background
The CIV cannot exist without partners.
However, the most important colleagues are our fellow police officers in
the regions. Without them there would be no CIV and without the CIV they
would not get the information they need.
In the Netherlands there is an agreement
that every professional football club has its own police officer. He or
she is responsible for safety measures at matches. We call them “football
co-ordinators”. They know their clubs inside out. The same goes for the
supporters in the local town. They are our most important information
“users” and sources of information. We have a very good relationship with
these officers. There is an intensive exchange of information and the CIV
gives support where necessary.
For the co-ordinators the CIV is also a
source of information on national and international policy. And, sometimes
we are used to raise certain issues nationwide.
Twice a year, in January and August, we
organise a conference with the co-ordinators. This is to discuss problems
and clarify new regulations. Usually we invite a guest speaker to shine
some light on an issue – or to confront these officers with an alternative
approach to a problem. This can be very useful when a given matter needs
explaining.
In short, we have quite a good and
intensive contact with the football co-ordinators. Indeed, we talk on the
phone almost every week.
Tasks of the CIV.
As I mentioned, in 1997 football
hooliganism escalated. Supporters of Ajax and Feyenoord had a planned
fight, which left one Ajax supporter dead. This was unacceptable for the
government and all the other parties involved in combating football
hooliganism. The ministries of the Interior, Justice and Health, Welfare
& Sport, together with the municipal authorities, the police, the Crown
Prosecution Service, the Dutch Football Association and the clubs, reached
a number of agreements. These were formalised in a policy framework on
combating football hooliganism
Under this policy document the CIV was
given the job of monitoring a number of the agreements. For this reason
our work divides into operational and policy support tasks:
These tasks are:
1. Collecting and distributing
information on a national and international basis;
Their actual content must be reasonably
clear to everyone. Over the course of time we have acquired a lot of data.
This also covers the clubs and the way foreign supporters behave. At the
national level our key sources are the football co-ordinators. For four
years they have been linked up in a national database where they can input
their own information. I’ll come back to this in a short while.
And, there are also set procedures for
exchanging information.
Since 1999 the Football Hooligan Hotline
is operational. This national telephone number gives people the
opportunity to call and report matters relating to football hooliganism.
The CIV manage this hotline. We analyse
the information we get and pass it through to the police. The judgement of
the value of the information is not easy, because of most people give the
information anonymous.
2. Providing support for parties
involved in football;
The second task is also quite clear.
With our expertise we can provide support for a whole range of
organisations and bodies. Support that is requested – and support that we
give of our own initiative. Often these parties are the football
co-ordinators and the Crown Prosecution Service. And we regularly attend
matches.
3. Management and control of national
data;
The management and control of the
National Football Hooliganism Database is rather a special task. This
database, or VVS, contains a very large quantity of information from and
for the various partners in combating football hooliganism.
The most important data in the VVS are:
5. Co-ordination and control tasks
under the “Policy Framework for Combating football hooliganism and
violence”;
The monitoring or control function given
to the CIV after establishment of the Policy Framework in 1997 is
comparable to our role with the VVS.
As part of the Policy Framework,
agreements were made on allocation of responsibilities and tasking. As the
CIV we have to monitor these agreements on a regular basis. We do so in
regard to police tasks and we report on it to the senior police officer
with the national portfolio for football hooliganism. The same applies for
tasks allocated to the municipal authorities and the mayors. And so, for
example, in early 1999 we completed a study into agreements, which the
municipal authorities, under the authority of the mayor, were meant to
make with the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the clubs. These
agreements were to be formalised in local covenants. Our study showed that
in several towns the quality of these covenants was not in line with
agreements.
We reported our findings to the ministry
of the Interior. Later on it appeared that several municipalities did not
agree with our findings – and there were angry reactions from several
mayors.
6. Advice around policy
The CIV has a large store of knowledge.
This is not confined to incidents but it also includes the policy of
various national and international institutions. In some cases we are
viewed as the “friendly spider in the web”.
Thanks to our knowledge, experience and
overall view – and the national and international levels – we are
regularly consulted by the police, the Dutch Football Association, the
ministry of the Interior and other institutions. We also sit in various
committees and ad hoc working groups. Indeed, the fact that out input is
valued so highly puts heavy pressure on our staff. If the CIV does not put
up well-founded arguments – it loses its credibility.
The media also appreciates our
independent, expert opinion.
