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The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Premier League have announced a new partnership that will test how data and technology can improve matchday safety and support policing operations.
The UK Football Policing Unit and the Premier League already work closely to deliver safe matchdays. The new pilots will look at how additional tech-led approaches could support that work.
Forces in London, Merseyside and the West Midlands will work with local Premier League clubs on a series of projects launching next year, including:
- Using drones to give police a clearer view of activity around stadiums and help manage safety risks.
- Applying data and AI-driven predictive modelling to better understand crowd movements and support decision-making.
- Piloting live, intelligence-led facial recognition to identify and prevent serious offenders from entering stadiums, building on deployments at other major events.
The aim is to understand what works, develop approaches that improve the safety and delivery of large events, and share learning across policing and wider public safety partners.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, UK Football Policing Unit lead, said the partnership gives policing and clubs a chance to develop technologies that support safer matchdays and build capability that could be used more widely across public safety.
“As the national lead for digital, data and technology and a keen football fan myself, I am delighted to be working alongside the Premier League to explore how in better utilising technology we can make the beautiful game even better and crucially, safer for the public.
“The National Data and Analytics Office will be pivotal to the success of this work, unlocking the potential of policing data to better protect fans. I look forward to seeing how, in working together with a sector of this size and scale, we can demonstrate just how impactful the safe and responsible use of technology can be.”
Chief Constable Rob Carden, NPCC lead for Digital, Data and Technology.
Minister of State for Policing and Crime Sarah Jones MP welcomed the move, saying every supporter should feel safe at games and that the use of new technologies can help ease pressure on police while improving public safety.
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