Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 in 2016-17, Scottish Government Social Research

Citation

Foster R & Myant K (2017) Charges reported under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 in 2016-17, Scottish Government Social Research. Scottish Government. Social Research series. Edinburgh. https://www.gov.scot/publications/charges-reported-under-offensive-behaviour-football-threatening-communications-scotland-act/

Abstract
First paragraph: In 2016-17, there were 377 charges under section 1 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 (the Act), reported by the police to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service ( COPFS). This is an increase of 32% on the 286 charges reported in 2015-16 and the highest number of 'offensive behaviour at football' charges since the Act was introduced. The increase is explained by the 140 charges associated with the Rangers v Hibernian Scottish Cup Final fixture held at Hampden stadium on 21 st May 2016.