London's Premier League clubs "paid a fraction of the policing costs incurred" by their Manchester rivals last season, according to the PA. The five teams under the Metropolitan Police's jurisdiction -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United -- were charged a combined £178,047 "for policing the areas inside and immediately outside stadiums controlled by the clubs" in the '15-16 campaign. By contrast, Man City "had the biggest policing bill," paying Greater Manchester Police £944,195.01 over the same period, with ManU "second out of the 20 clubs" with a charge of £925,126.61. A Freedom of Information request was made by the PA to all 12 police forces which had responsibility for at least one Premier League club during the '15-16 season "to disclose the amount charged to those clubs." Chelsea "paid the most of the London clubs" but the total charge from the Met to the club was just £94,388, "just under 10 times the amount" paid by Man City. Tottenham paid £38,568, Arsenal paid £32,536, West Ham paid £12,555 and Palace "paid nothing at all because there was no police presence at all at their matches at Selhurst Park." A spokesperson for the Met Police said that "their lower costs were due to a decision to reduce police presence inside stadia." The spokesperson said, "We don't police inside the stadium and haven't for a number of years" (PA, 8/10).
