Football Intelligence Officers to help local cops with World Cup crowd control in Toronto
· Toronto Sun
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A group of people with unique skills will be immersed among the international football fans expected in Toronto for the World Cup.
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These ‘insiders,’ labeled as Football Intelligence Officers (FIO), are specialized law enforcement officers deployed for one of the grandest sporting events on the globe.
“They are folks who travel with, well-known among the fans’ groups, to make sure they can help us identify instances of trouble before they occur,” Toronto Police Deputy Chief Robert Johnson said Friday.
These FIO’s travel with their national teams with a mission to partner with host-city police. By recognizing specific fan groups, tracking the marching routes, and translating behaviours, the insiders will help Toronto Police maintain crowd safety, while giving the cops a warning to the possibility of violence breaking out suddenly.
Providing situational awareness
“We want to make sure everyone is safe, and sometimes there are things that we may not be aware of, not familiar with a certain fan base,” Johnson said. “These football intelligence officers will give us critical situational awareness that allows our officers to respond in a measured and appropriate (way).”
Besides the domestic crowd expected to flock to Toronto Stadium to watch Canada take on Bosnia Herzegovina next Friday night, potentially, 11 teams could play at least one game in the city. Toronto will host six matches. The last scheduled game is a July 2 round of 32 matchup with the runners-up from Groups K and L.
At the very least, police expect international passengers from Germany, Senegal, Panama, Croatia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Iraq.
Johnson said every team playing in the city will have at least one FIO embedded among the traveling supporters, but the intelligence will extend beyond Toronto Stadium.
Any time, any place
A gathering of opposing supporters at transit hubs could become flashpoints as large numbers of people would be jammed into small spaces, like hotels that attract crowds looking to engage with players. The FIFA fan zone will also expand crowds beyond the games on the pitch, and spontaneous celebrations could appear with little to no advanced warning.
The Deputy Chief noted it’s not feasible to expect Toronto Police to read and react to the specific group dynamics they may have never seen previously. More than likely, there are people coming to the city with one thing in mind: to cause unrest and upset the apple cart.
“People celebrate differently,” Johnson said. “Some are more aggressive than others, so we want to make sure that we are able to understand the crowd dynamics, or an individual group that we may not have had here in Toronto.”
Additional FIO officers will also be stationed with the Toronto Police at their command centre.