In July 2018 the BBC Shared Data Unit reported there were as few as 41 fans to each officer at one of the most-heavily-policed football matches in the UK in the 2017/18 season.
We compared Freedom of Information responses from 37 police forces covering football teams in the Premier League, English Football League, Scottish Championship and Scottish Premiership and attendance figures from the statistics company Opta.
Our analysis found:
- The number of officers sent to matches ranged from zero to a peak of 587 when Middlesbrough visited Sunderland - an officer for every 50 spectators
- The most-heavily-policed Premier League fixture was Tottenham Hotspur vs West Ham United at Wembley Stadium with 477 officers, one for every 105 spectators
- There was a wide variation across police force areas in how much of their costs they recouped
- The most expensive policing operation in England was Sheffield Wednesday against Sheffield United at Hillsborough, which cost £203,000. The home club was billed for £41,000.
- In Scotland, the most expensive policing operation was Rangers vs. Celtic at Ibrox at £64,000
The Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to news organisations across the media industry, as part of a partnership between the BBC and the News Media Association. Stories generated by the partnership included:
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Teeside Live: Sunderland vs Middlesbrough was most heavily policed fixture in the Championship last year 24 July 2018
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The Yorkshire Post: Police forces can't continue to subsidise 'multi-billion pound football industry', police chief says 24 July 2018
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The Yorkshire Post: The Yorkshire Post says: Policing costs don’t tell full story of football’s benefits to region 24 July 2018
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Yorkshire Evening Post: Leeds United's £25k-a-game average bill for match-day policing revealed 24 July 2018
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Chronicle Live: 600 officers and a half-empty stadium: How police worked at Newcastle United and Sunderland games 24 July 2018
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Birmingham Mail: The revealing police stat about that Birmingham City vs Aston Villa derby 24 July 2018
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Express & Star: Clubs pick up the cost of policing games 24 July 2018
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Swindon Advertiser: Wiltshire Police spend over £100k policing STFC home football matches 24 July 2018
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Sunderland Echo: Sunderland v Middlesbrough match had one police officer for every 50 fans 24 July 2018
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Northern Echo: Public foot £101,000 bill for policing just 9 football matches 24 July 2018
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Evening Express: Aberdeen FC rack up £50,000 bill for policing Pittodrie games 24 July 2018
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Sheffield: The Star: Steel City derby 'most expensive match to police in country', according to figures 24 July 2018
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Chronicle Live: The incredible stats that prove Newcastle United fans' loyalty - but is St James' Park all sold out with nowhere to grow? 24 July 2018
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Newham Recorder: Revealed: The true cost of policing West Ham matches 25 July 2018
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Swindon Advertiser: Wiltshire Police respond to Adver's football policing costs story 25 July 2018
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Grimsby Live: Grimsby Town match among 'most policed games' in Football League during 2017/18 season 26 July 2018
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Coventry Telegraph: BBC Price of Policing: How much Coventry City paid for police at Ricoh Arena last season 28 July 2018
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Bristol Post: This is the cost of policing Bristol City and Bristol Rovers matches 30 July 2018
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Yorkshire Evening Post: Leeds United pays more for match-day policing but gets fewer officers than Huddersfield Town, figures show 4 October 2018
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The story was also used by Sportsday on the BBC News Channel, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Newcastle, BBC Tees, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio Cornwall, BBC WM, BBC Berkshire, BBC Radio Lincolnshire, BBC Radio Sheffield, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Suffolk, BBC Radio Leicester, BBC Radio Humberside, BBC Radio Stoke and BBC Radio Manchester.