Leigh Thompson discusses how funding cuts now mean that law enforcement, and sport itself, must become leaner, meaner and smarter to root out corruption.
Two news stories caught my eye in this week – one high profile, the other less so.
The first was the quite startling claim by WADA Director-General David Howman that 25% of sport is now controlled by organised crime.
The second was a less conspicuous – but equally important – piece about the paucity of UK police resources available to investigate the rising number of fraud cases.
How are these two stories linked?
The Age of Austerity: more to come
Well, it has become a truism to state that we live in difficult economic times. Years of austerity since the financial crisis of 2008 has meant ever-tightening budgets for all, including essential public services.
The recent party conferences have all highlighted that further cuts beyond the next election are almost certain.
The only difference between the main parties seems to be about precisely who will bear the brunt and how severe the cuts might have to be.
In this context it is not surprising that police forces – which have faced a 20% real terms cut in central Government funding over the period 2011/12-2014/15 as a result of the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review – lack specific fraud investigation skills and are struggling to tackle the rising caseload.
This is exacerbated by the fact that fraud – and economic crime more generally – is seen as a ‘Cinderella’ crime in which less than 1% of police specialise. It seems fair to say pursuing fraud or corruption offences linked to match-fixing is unlikely to be top of the agenda for most forces.
In spite of this, the recently-created National Crime Agency – dubbed ‘Britain’s version of the FBI’ – has made a real impact, with notable recent success in prosecuting football match-fixers.
This is in part due to the NCA’s national approach and intelligence capabilities which put it in a strong position to address the threat of betting-related match-fixing.
However, the NCA is funded by the Home Office which may well face further cuts in the next Parliament. Similarly, debates are ongoing about the precise roles and responsibilities of the NCA and the Metropolitan Police in relation to counter-terrorism.
Further organisational change may well be on the cards, potentially leading to an enlarged NCA. Will these changes, combined with budget restrictions, push match-fixing down the pecking order of priorities?
Faster, Higher, Stronger… or Leaner, Meaner, Smarter?
All of this puts David Howman’s statement in a much wider context. One in which those fighting to protect sporting integrity must recognise the political and economic reality of the next five or even ten years.
Further cuts to law enforcement budgets mean we will need to do more with less – in other words sport needs to be leaner, meaner and smarter in how it protects itself.
This is not to say that Howman’s words are not important. They are. They remind us all of the importance of protecting sporting competition and the price that will be paid if integrity is lost.
However, while the claim that 25% of sport is controlled by organised crime makes an arresting headline, it doesn’t say much about which sports are most affected or at what level.
Indeed it appears Howman’s statement referred to a broad definition of sport in which much of the organised crime infiltration is below elite level.
Similarly, it doesn’t tell us much about the specific nature of the threats faced by sport or how these threats manifest themselves.
In a future in which financial resources for investigation and enforcement will be increasingly limited, this is the level of detail we as a sports sector need to understand in order to inform our response.
It is also the reason why groups like the Alliance supported Sports Betting Group are so important.
The Sports Betting Group has, over time, helped build an effective dialogue between sports governing bodies and partners in government, law enforcement, regulatory agencies such as the Gambling Commission and betting operators.
This in turn has led to a better understanding of the threats to integrity and improved intelligence and information-sharing amongst all parties. In short it has had a real, tangible effect on the ground.
Some have called for a global body – similar to WADA – to tackle match-fixing and corruption. This may sound attractive but the obvious questions of funding (how much and by whom?), responsibilities (for what?) and accountability (to whom?) would take up even more scarce time and resources to answer.
Time and resources we simply don’t have.
Looking ahead, only through a coordinated, pragmatic, shared approach – as illustrated by the work of the Sports Betting Group and others – can integrity be protected whilst operating with significantly fewer resources.
This is the new reality – leaner, meaner and smarter.
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