Luton Town Football Club’s promotion to the Premier League earlier this year coincided with a noticeable drop in crime in the town. While some residents attributed this to the “feel-good factor” inspired by the club’s success, Bedfordshire Police and football experts are circumspect about the reasons.
Luton Labour mayor and Hatters fan Yaqub Hanif believes that the “wellbeing” of the community may have been improved by the football club’s success. However, while overall crime was down every single month on the previous year during Luton’s promotion-winning season, Bedfordshire Police acknowledges that there are “a lot of other factors to consider”. The College of Policing notes that initiatives such as increasing the number of officers on the street can also contribute to a fall in crime.
Football expert Dr David Webber maintains that the drop in crime in Luton may not be linked to the club’s sporting success. However, he adds that football often brings people together and can produce improvements in local communities. Luton’s route to the Premier League made history by having ascended from non-League football with no major financial backing.
Quantitative criminologist Dr David Buil-Gil calls the idea that football success can reduce crime “beautiful”. He acknowledges that a correlation between poverty and a lack of social cohesion and crime has been established, but suggests a longer timeframe and wider data set in order to observe trends and blips with regard to Luton’s crime statistics.
The question of whether Luton Town Football Club’s promotion is the reason for the drop in crime in the town has intrigued Dr Buil-Gil so much that he may submit it as a project for his students
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