Public services: Unit 14 assignment 2
Responding to emergency incidents: Hillsborough
On 15 April 1989 a football match was held at Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield. 54,000 people were
to attend. Outside the football stadium by the turnstiles, a crowd had occurred. To alleviate this the
Chief Superintendent ordered an exit gate to be opened which led to more overcrowding in the
stadium. People were crushed in the standing only area, as these areas had an influx of too many
people, and it became overcrowded. 96 people died in the crush and 766 people were injured. The
police tried to cover up their mistakes by siting Hooliganism and Drunkenness by Liverpool
supporters for the tragedy. This made Liverpool supporters very angry and the cover up made
people lose trust in the police force. Also, it meant that Justice for the victims was delayed until
2016 when there was an inquest. The Police should have told the truth about what happened at the
time, to ensure public confidence was restored as soon as possible and that lessons could have been
learned to save future tragedies. In 2009 an independent inquiry was set up to review the evidence.
In 2016 the coroner’s inquests ruled that the fans were unlawfully killed due to the Police’s gross
negligence. This incident became known as the Hillsborough disaster.
At an emergency incident like Hillsborough, there are both statutory and voluntary services working
to respond to the incident and help anyone affected by the event. Services are also expected to
perform inter-agency cooperation to make sure that the response to the incident is effective and
efficient.
On the arrival at the scene, the responder to the incident, should have analysed the situation and
decided whether further assistance was needed from any other public services. If more support was
necessary, the responder should have contacted the control room and discussed the CHALET
mnemonic.
• They firstly should have discussed C for estimated number of casualties.
• The H stands for any present or potential hazards.
• The A is for access routes in and out for the emergency services.
• Next is L for the specific location of the incident and any necessary coordinates.
• Then E stands for the emergency services which are present and needed at the incident.
• The T is for the type of the incident, like a fire, traffic collision, chemical spill etc.
This method helps the control room to assess the scale of the incident.
The police did not prevent crowd congestion. Over 10,000 fans were expected to come through just
7 turnstiles. As kick off was getting closer and there was a crush at the front of the queue, the police
ordered for the exit gates to be opened and this should never have been done. Instead the police
should have cordoned the entrance to the stadium so that supporters could form an orderly queue.
The police also had far too few personnel; at previous similar matches, there had been an additional
hundred officers. Police had also decided to keep Liverpool and Nottingham Forrest football fans
apart. To do this they had closed some turnstiles which had made the congestion worse. The
turnstiles which were working could not process the number of fans before kick-off. The police had
not made contingency plans before the fans reached the turnstiles and the police were unprepared
for the arrival of such a large number of fans when “Gate C” was opened, 2000 fans headed down
the tunnel which caused the crush as they all ended up in the central pen rather than the emptier
side pens. Mr Duckenfield, the chief superintendent, should have closed the tunnel but he panicked
under the pressure of the decision. He also should have delayed the start of the match recognising
that the crowd’s safety was at risk. Instead he decided that the game should go ahead on time. The
superintendent at the time had also agreed not to delay kick off. The police did not prioritise the
safety of the crowd and did not assess the pressures on the turnstiles. The match was not stopped
until 15:06 by which time some people had already died, and others were screaming.
, Public services: Unit 14 assignment 2
Responding to emergency incidents: Hillsborough
There was not enough medical equipment on the pitch to deal with such an event. There had been
“near misses” at the stadium previously but lessons had not been learned. A safety certificate had
overestimated the standing area capacity by approximately 2000 people. Police had ignored several
previous problems at the stadium. In 1981, there had been a serious crush where it was recorded
that fatalities were “narrowly avoided”. The capacity of the stadium had never been recalculated
and the significant defects which had been noted previously had been ignored.
Emergency vehicles had responded too slowly. Ambulance crew were criticised for not looking into
the pens even though a major disaster was occurring. The south Yorkshire ambulance service did not
assess the situation properly and failed to declare a major emergency early enough. The ambulance
driver had assumed the ambulance control room would declare the emergency and he also had a
faulty radio. Therefore, hospitals weren’t alerted. Equipment used by Ambulance crew should be up
to date and fit for purpose, so that interagency communication can be up to date and relevant, and
they should have the medical equipment needed on board their ambulances.
Equipment that was needed did not arrive in a prompt manner, for example, bolt cutters which were
requested at 15:10 from the police garage arrived only once all the injured had been moved. A
doctor who had requested an oxygen cylinder was given an empty cylinder. This scene was
described by many as chaotic. There were no evidence of health service support and the police were
ineffective. The ambulance service was asked for a fleet of ambulances at 15:06. While 42
ambulances turned up, the police had not enabled them to access the crowd as they deemed it
“unsafe” saying that fans were fighting. In the end, only two ambulances reached the football pitch
and only 14 people out of the 96 people who died were admitted to hospital. Due to the lack of
medical support, fans were forced to use signs on the pitch as stretchers for the casualties. A major
incident was not declared until 15:22. This was significantly delayed and had it been earlier, people
could have received the support they needed. The ambulance crew had been told by the police that
it was a pitch invasion, and this had delayed the ambulance service further. The police should have
been honest from the start about the cause which may have made the ambulance staff less fearful
to attempt to support the fans. The police should have made a ‘gangway’ for the ambulances to use,
so that they could get people to hospital quickly. The police should have called for ambulances at an
earlier stage.
The Sheffield stadium had previously been criticised for the poor layout and design of the turnstiles.
These criticisms had not been acted upon.
Statutory services are organisations provided by the government such as:
Police
At an emergency incident one of the police’s role is to 1
~} provide clear information and updates to the control room. This room organises the interagency
strategies and solutions to a major incident. They are also meant to make sure that there are clear
access and exit routes to the emergency. They also ensure that all important information is
collected, recorded, and passed to all necessary authorities whether they are at the scene of the
incident or not. All media, sight seers and onlookers must be controlled as surrounding crowds can
be dangerous and inappropriate. All people involved in the incident must have their personal
property safeguarded by the police so that nothing is stolen or damaged in the process of dealing
with the major incident. As well as this the police must ask witnesses for statements for any court
