The Hillsborough disaster was a tragic accident and bad planning event which caused many tragedies. The police blamed the public and the football fans when in the end it was due to the bad organisation of the police.

1. The Hillsborough Disaster
By Shannon Newton

2. The Hillsborough Disaster Date and Location (P2,M2)
 The Hillsborough disaster occurred on 15
April 1989 just over 25 years ago at the
Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England.
During the FA Cup semi-final match between
Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football
clubs. The incident has since been blamed
primarily on the police for letting too many
people enter the stadium. It remains the
worst stadium-related disaster in British
history, and one of the world's worst football
disasters

3. What Type of Incident is it and How Did it Happen? (P2,M2)
 This type of major incident is technically man made
 Events began to unfold from around 14:30 on what
was a bright and sunny day. Liverpool fans had
begun arriving at the ground from midday, but had
to enter their designated stand at Leppings Lane
through a small number of turnstiles.
 Once inside, many made their way on to the
terraced lower stand which was ringed with blue-painted
steel fences and laterally divided into five
separate "pens".
 Fencing had been put up by many football clubs
during the 1970s and 80s to control crowds and
prevent pitch invasions.

4.  By about 14:50 pens 3 and 4 - those directly behind the goal -
were full, but outside the ground thousands of fans were still
waiting to get in.
 The pens' official combined capacity was 2,200. It was later
discovered that this should have been reduced to 1,600 as crush
barriers installed three years earlier did not meet official safety
standards.
 At 14:52 police ordered a large exit gate - Gate C - to be
opened to alleviate the crush outside the ground. Around 2,000
fans then made their way into the ground and headed straight
for a tunnel leading directly to pens 3 and 4.
 This caused severe crushing in the pens. Fans began climbing
over side fences into the relatively less packed pens 1 and 5 to
escape.

5.  It was later estimated that more than 3,000 supporters were
admitted to the central pens - almost double the "safe" capacity.
 At 15:00, the game kicked off. Five minutes later a crush barrier
in pen 3 gave way, causing people to fall on top of each other.
 Supporters continued to climb perimeter fences to escape, while
others were dragged to safety by fans in the upper tiers.
 At 15:06, a policeman ran on to the pitch and ordered the referee
to stop the game. In the chaotic aftermath, supporters tore up
advertising boards to use as makeshift stretchers and tried to
administer first aid to the injured.
 The authorities' response to the disaster was slow and badly co-ordinated.
Firefighters with cutting gear had difficulty getting into
the ground, and although dozens of ambulances were dispatched,
access to the pitch was delayed because police were reporting
"crowd trouble".
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DOIsxUKEtU (stop at
3:26)

6. Details of any Fatalities, Injuries and Damage Caused
(P2,M2)
 Around 776 people became badly hurt or injured when
this disaster took place. Just over half of these injuries
incurred before the match had even started .
 96 people died due to the vast amount of people there
were in the stadium. People just got crushed. Of the 96
people who died, only 14 were ever admitted to hospital.
Many people were injured or unfortunately died and the
majority of them were only young teenagers.
 The damage afterwards to the stadium was awful
whereby the crowds of people had worked together to
break down the gates and fences, advertising boards
had been pulled down to use as stretchers. The stadium
looks like a bomb site !!!

7. How this was Covered by the Media (P2,M2)
Media coverage of Hillsborough has had significant
consequences on a number of levels.
 The immediate reaction of the press following Hillsborough
was to blame the fans. The proof is there for all to see and
it extends way beyond the Sun's headlines. However, as
that headline is the most shocking even to this day it is only
right that we remind people what they said:
 “The Truth; some fans picked pockets of victims; some fans
urinated on the brave cops; some fans beat up PC giving
kiss of life.”
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8JgMEvU6mA

8. Newspaper Headlines
These were some of the main
headlines straight after the
disaster. The media had twisted
people’s statements so it looked
like it was the fans to blame
when really it was the police
department

9.  The serious allegations of misbehaviour by Liverpool supporters,
most infamously carried by the Sun on 19 April 1989, came
from Whites Press Agency in Sheffield. There is no evidence to
support the allegations of drunkenness and violence by
supporters which were spread by the police.
 The panel also found that the South Yorkshire Police Chief
Constable, Peter Wright, encouraged junior officers to present
this case to the media, as "a defence", to present a rock solid
story. The nature of the stories was to falsely blame the
supporters for causing the disaster

10. What were the Initial Effects on the Local
Population/Community (p3)
 The initial effect on the local community was one of
outrage. They couldn’t believe that the local police allowed
this to happen
 Everyone was in shock
 Survivors and relatives of the deceased and injured were
grief-striken by the tragedy and the overwhelming sense of
injustice
 There was a sense of anger amongst those people within
the local community that immediately afterwards the
national press were quick to blame ‘hooliganism’ and not
the police
 The local population were deeply sadened and
demographically the immediate population declined due to
the sudden deaths.

11. What Were the Initial Effects on the Rescue
Workers? (p3)
 The number of casualties and their serious nature
overwhelmed those involved in the initial rescue
operation
 Rescue workers were frustrated as they were unable to
gain access to the ground in time to help more people as
the police were reporting ‘crowd trouble’
 Ambulance and Firefighters felt frustrated that it took
too long for them to be allowed in to the Stadium and
gain access to help the injured

12. What Were the Long Term Effects & have the local Communities
been able to Return to Normal (m2)
 Many people lost family members so this has caused stress and
discomfort
 Many people in Liverpool have and will refuse to buy The Sun newspaper
due to how they criticized and manipulated the facts. Thousands of
shops in Liverpool will not even sell The Sun. Even to do this day shops
and the general public will not read The Sun.
 Lots of people who were at the disaster witnessed people dying right
before their eyes. This has caused some people to have post-traumatic
stress disorder.
 It is unjust and absurd for the residents of Hillsborough and the families
of those who survived to have had to wait 25 years for any form of
official apology which happened recently by the Prime Minister David
Cameron
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiPu7cFMuY4

13. What are the Wider Impacts of the Incident Locally,
Nationally and Internationally (M2)
Individual Senior Police Officers faced disciplinary
procedures and decided to leave the Police Force
There was a loss of faith in police procedures
locally and nationally
There was uncertainty of what to believe in the
national press
Both nationally and internationally there was
widespread disbelief and concern that this horrific
tragedy had happened on such a scale with so
many fatalities and was then covered up
afterwards