Standing by as violence happens
Violence has become a regular occurence at soccer games across the country. Unfortunately, the legal measures that have been introduced by the authorities in the past have failed to deliver. The reason for this failure has very little to do with the actual measures themselves, but rather with the reluctance of the authorities to enforce them to the full. For example, police searches conducted on fans at the entrance of soccer stadiums are not as thorough as they should be. The police have failed to make adequate use of CCTV surveillance at soccer grounds. Only a small number of hooligans have been prosecuted on the basis of footage. After soccer riots, clubs tend to escape without serious punishment. Heftier penalties would prompt them to take more effective measures to prevent a repeat of such incidents in the future. There is no doubt that the authorities’ failure to effectively and systematically enforce the law simply creates a hotbed for some of the worst kinds of criminal offenses.
