Research shows major sporting events rarely drive violent crime spikes

By now, every South Florida resident is aware that the FIFA World Cup is coming to town.

Many people are excited to root for their home teams, and thousands of fans from around the world are poised to travel to our great community.

One natural concern people have about large-scale sporting events is public safety in and around the venues, as well as in town more generally. These concerns are normal, but oftentimes people’s perceptions do not match what is really known about crime and victimization increases.

For over a dozen years, I have studied whether crime and victimization increase in and around sporting venues on game days, as well as in the periods before and after the events. Our work has studied crime in and around New Orleans, including the NFL’s Saints and the NBA’s Pelicans; the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (including hockey, basketball, and other events); the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs; the Formula 1 race in Austin, Texas; and even crime around Universal Studios in Orlando. So, what do we know?

By and large, while there are slight increases in certain types of crime — mainly auto theft in parking lots — the presence of a sporting event does not cause a significant increase in crime, especially violent and sex-oriented offenses. Our summary of research on soccer (or futbol) matches in Europe also indicates that, while there may be some instances of unruly fan behavior — largely attributable to excessive alcohol use, which compromises decision-making — areas around and within the stadium are safe for fans and those who staff these events.

This, of course, does not mean that visitors to our community and the fans who attend events at Hard Rock Stadium and throughout South Florida should let their guard down and be complacent.

On the contrary, just like when you travel, you need to pay attention to your surroundings, where you park (and remember to lock your door and keep any valuables out of plain view), travel in groups as much as possible, stay in lit areas during nighttime, and avoid situations and locations that just don’t pass your smell test.

Undoubtedly, South Florida’s public safety officials, including City of Miami Chief Manuel Morales, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and her team, Attorney General James Uthmeier, and importantly, the FIFA World Cup 26 Miami Host Committee led by Alina Hudak, are already working hard to ensure that fans have a safe and memorable experience, whether their team is successful or not on the pitch.

In fact, this past Friday, Uthmeier’s office, along with the State Attorney’s office, announced a new memorandum providing $1.5 million in additional support for prosecution, law enforcement, and resources. Our team will track crime trends across many of the World Cup cities and report on those figures in the future.

So, let’s all have fun rooting for the players and teams that represent our homelands, whether original or adopted, and be proud that we’re one of the select cities hosting. It says something about our community, but more importantly, it says something about all the people who make South Florida a warm, safe, and hospitable community — one that is seeing record-low levels of violent crime, especially homicides.

Now, don’t forget to yell “Golllllllllllllllllllllllllll” when your team scores!

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Alex R. Piquero is Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminology and Faculty Athletics Representative to the ACC/NCAA at the University of Miami and former Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (appointed by President Joe Biden in June 2022).