Praise as police-free games at Pittodrie pass off peacefully

A PILOT policing scheme in which Scottish Premier League matches have been held without a single officer inside the stadium has been hailed a success.

The scheme – a first for Scotland – was trialled by Grampian Police at Aberdeen’s Pittodrie stadium.

And the force has revealed that, as a result of the success of the pilot scheme, today’s match against “New Firm” rivals Dundee United will go ahead with 50 per cent fewer officers than last year.

Details of the zero policing strategy have been kept under wraps until now. But Chief Superintendent Adrian Watson, the Aberdeen Division Commander, said yesterday that the initial trial of three games at Pittodrie – two SPL matches and a testimonial – had passed without any significant incident.

He said that Aberdeen matches on a Friday night could also become a regular fixture after the force confirmed the pilot game, Aberdeen’s match against Dunfermline held on 30 September, had passed without any public order issues at the stadium. The Friday fixture had also not placed any unnecessary pressure on police resources in the city centre.

Chief Supt Watson said: “We are delighted by how successful the trials of police-free and Friday evening matches have been thus far.

“We are very proud of our relationship with Aberdeen Football Club, in the way we have worked with them, the supporters and a host of other partners in order to make the SPL match-day experience at Pittodrie one of the safest in the country.

“These changes have required a truly innovative approach on all sides, but much of the credit has to go to the club themselves, as well as the supporters who have acted so responsibly, allowing us to free up more officers to police our communities where it matters.”

He added: “It is important to stress, however, that we will not compromise on safety and each game is the subject of a rigorous risk assessment by our officers.”

The three matches in the trial were Aberdeen v St Mirren on 10 May, the clash against Kilmarnock on 27 September and the testimonial for Dons star Darren Mackie against Villarreal on 19 July.