page_title: Capital City Service
section_title: Strategies and Tactics
hierarchical_section_title: Capital City Service / Strategies and Tactics
caption_attribution_description: English: Walking down Waverley Steps
context_page_description: The Capital City Service is a Scottish football hooligan firm associated with Hibernian F.C. and active from 1984 when the casual hooligan subculture took off in Scotland. Their roots were in the previous incarnations of hooligan groups attached to the club and also the wider Edinburgh and surrounding area's gang culture. They are more commonly known in the media and amongst the public as the Hibs Casuals, although within the hooligan network they may also be referred to as Hibs Boys.
  Hooliganism was established at matches with many clubs in Scottish football before the advent of the casuals and violence from Hibernian supporters was recognised as likely to occur by other teams' hooligan supporters. The CCS went on to be regarded by some rivals and observers as the dominant hooligan gang in the Scottish scene from the latter part of the 1980s until the mid-1990s and also from outside Scotland as one of the best from north of the border.
  During the latter part of the 1990s a split in their ranks caused by the formation of a nationwide hooligan firm made up of casuals from different teams and a general decline in football hooliganism in Scotland saw activity of the gang diminish.
context_section_description: A concerted effort was made to apply some strategic thinking to the CCS activity at the football.  In readiness to face other hooligan gangs a formation was opted for that consisted of a front line of around twenty self-proclaimed "nutters" who initiated the confrontation with their rivals and directly behind them were other enthusiastic battle lines ready to support the attack.
  Whenever possible they tried to ambush another crew and strike them at the weakest point which was usually in the middle of their mob, the perception being that this section contained few if any of their adversaries more competent fighters. This tended to make an easier job of splitting up the other mob and dispatching their less robust members quickly.
  If the opposing gang were in a police escort then a group of Hibs boys made their way to the front of it while another group would hang around at the back. The bunch at the front would act as a decoy and start causing trouble in an attempt to lure all the police officers to rush in and assist their colleagues. This left the area at the back of the opposition firm open to attack by the expectant Hibs mob positioned there.
  On match days in Edinburgh a favoured gathering place would be the Penny Black pub on West Register Street situated near to Waverley station just off the east end of Princes Street. This back-street public house, and the convenience of a café and betting office below it, kept the Hibs boys out of the eyes of police in the days before adequate CCTV coverage of the city centre. Members of the Baby Crew would be positioned with a line of sight on the exits from the station to enable them to determine what potential route visiting soccer crews would take and likely points where to confront the opposition. Likewise, after games had finished the city centre bars were sometimes used as the last opportunity to engage with their rivals as they made their way back to the railway station.
  Nearer to the stadium the CCS would frequent pubs such as the Thistle Bar, Albion Bar and the Royal Nip, which was considered by many Hibs boys as their spiritual home. Often though the CCS would head to the Ladbrokes bookmakers that was situated on Easter Road at the junction with Bothwell Street to hang around the premises and wait for their moment of opportunity to take on other firms. It was here that visiting fans were finally marshalled away from the accessible public area and either directed to or escorted to their allocated section of the ground.
  As the segregation techniques used by the police to escort fans to the game became more effective whenever the opportunity arose for the Hibs casuals they would enter into the section of the ground allocated for away fans. Often Hibs boys would leave the ground before the match had finished while avoiding police attention to try to position themselves better to launch attacks on the opposition. The pubs were usually closed on Easter Road at this time so the side streets that lead onto it or the cover of the bushes and trees on London Road Gardens would be used in attempts to initiate gang fights. It has also been known for Hibs boys to mooch around the A & E department of the Edinburgh hospital looking for their victims and associates from earlier on in the day.
  For away matches the favoured mode of transport in the first few years was on the scheduled train services from either Waverley or Haymarket stations. Word of mouth was the usual method of relaying to gang members of the where and when to meet though in the 1984/85 season the section in the local evening paper put aside for football fans travelling into and out of Edinburgh was also used on occasion. In later seasons the information for the meeting point was often communicated by the use of party invitation cards that detailed the venue and time. The railway network provided convenient access to the requisite city or town centre and from there the CCS would walk to the football stadium regardless of distance. This would allow the Hibs boys to be on show for any rival crews along the way to have the 
caption: The CCS enters Waverley Station in 1984
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