Praise for supporters
Police have praised Sunderland and Newcastle United fans for their behaviour in the season which has just ended.
Northumbria Police today revealed that it made just 80 arrests – 43 from Newcastle and 37 from Sunderland – during the 201718 season, and handed out eight banning orders for bad behaviour.
The figures are very low when you consider that more than 1.5million tickets were sold for Newcastle United and Sunderland AFC home games over the course of the season.
That equates to just one person arrested for every 18,000 fans who passed through the turnstiles.
Officers have worked closely with fans of both clubs since 2014 as part of the Football Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT).
They attend fan meetings, invite supporters in to find out how they want to be policed and travel across the country so they have a local bobby at the away matches.
Both football clubs have also worked really closely with their dedicated officers to promote a safe match-day experience both inside and outside the stadium.
Now the head of the Football NPT has praised supporters of both teams for their behaviour after a largely trouble-free season.
Sergeant Chris Blyth said: “It has been a very successful season from a policing point of view, and that has a lot to do with the supporters themselves.
“They have engaged with us, told us how they want to be policed and behaved themselves throughout the season.
“That has made it easy for us.
It was in fact a youth fixture between the two clubs which saw the most trouble, with reports of criminal damage inside the Stadium of Light following the match on March 7.
A 16-year-old boy has already been handed a threeyear banning order for his part in the disorder and an investigation will continue during the summer months.