Merseyside Police's chief inspector has warned that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated at the Grand National Festival.
The coronavirus pandemic meant that the event was held behind closed doors last year and was cancelled in 2020, but spectators will return to Aintree for the festival this year. Taking place from April 7 to 9, it is expected to bring over 150,000 people to Merseyside.
As fans return to the famous racecourse, Merseyside Police Chief Inspector Matthew Moscrop spoke to the ECHO about how the force plans to police the event and encouraged attendees to enjoy themselves in a responsible manner.
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He said: " It’s great to have people back. 2019 was the last time we had people at the racecourse in good numbers, so it’s exciting for us. It is a busy event, so we’ve put a lot of police into the operation. The good thing is that over the years there have been very few arrests and it’s a safe event, so people should be able to come, have a good time and stay safe."
Armed police officers will be in attendance, which Merseyside Police has stated is not a response to any threat aimed at the festival, but is a measure which it hopes will provide reassurance for those attending. Officers will work alongside security, while checks will be in place on entry and unnecessary bags will not be allowed into Aintree.
As such, Chief Inspector Moscrop urged spectators to leave plenty of time to get through security and to pace themselves while drinking alcohol. He said: " Plan ahead so you arrive in good time. There are the searches and the checks when people are coming in - people can’t bring bags in, so don’t bring a big bag and when you come in, we really want people to pace themselves and respect other people and behave in the right way.
"We have so many people attending - people who attend behave in the right way. There are the odd few who behave in an anti-social manner - that won’t be tolerated and we’ll deal with that. Everyone else, if you see police, come and speak to us, say hello and we’ll hopefully all have a good time."
Those attending the festival have been asked to consider local residents, who have expressed concern about people urinating in the street. Merseyside Police confirmed that fixed penalty notices will be handed out to those caught.
There will also be a large police presence in Liverpool city centre following the conclusion of each day's racing. This will include officers working on Operation Empower - the force's operation aimed at targeting violence towards women and girls.
Chief Inspector Moscrop said: "Operation Empower is an ongoing policing operation targeting violence against women and girls where we have officers in plain clothes and in uniform. They’re tasked with identifying people who are hanging around with the wrong intentions and may present a threat towards women, so we focus on those people to try and prevent offending and to identify people of concern.
"We know that we have perpetrators who attend places where they think there will be people who may be intoxicated. who they may wish to take advantage of or to target in some way. Because the city centre and the night time economy can be attractive to those people, we make sure that we respond to that and hopefully we can deter that type of behaviour."
