Qatar World Cup sees Essex Police strengthen resources

Ahead of the kick-off, officers are urging fans to watch and behave responsibly, whether that be in one of the many venues around the county which will be showing matches or at home with family and friends.

Tailored policing plans will be in place across the county on each England matchday, scheduled to take place on Monday, November 21, Friday, November 25, and Tuesday, November 29.

Appropriate policing plans will also be in place for each subsequent England games, as they progress through the tournament.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We know football tournaments can lead to an increase in the risk of public order and that is why we plan for additional resources to be in place on matchdays.

“However, we also know the risk does not stop at venues showing matches and sadly, that risk of incident continues into homes across the county.

“Domestic abuse is not solely connected to football and in fact we have highly trained teams dealing with incidents 24/7 365-days-a-year, but we do know there is an increase in incidents throughout major tournaments.

“This year, Essex Police plans to lead the way when tackling domestic abuse throughout the world cup.

“Where we are called to incidents of a domestic nature, our priority will always be the safety and wellbeing of victims.

“We will always encourage them to be supportive of police action against the perpetrator.

“But we also know that will not always be the case. Where we cannot secure an immediate charge against a perpetrator, we will proactively use the powers available to us in order to safeguard victims throughout the tournament.”

Throughout the tournament, where there is evidence that a domestic incident can be directly linked to football, officers will also compile evidence to submit to the Crown Prosecution Service which will consider asking the courts to apply a football banning order to convicted perpetrators.