At home attendances for 2024/25, fans went through the turnstiles at Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Mansfield Town more than a million times.
Police made 119 arrests at the football during that time – 0.01 per cent of attendances – were suspected of causing issues.
“We hope that releasing these statistics for the season just gone shows that the vast majority of football supporters are well-behaved,” said Inspector Pete Shaw, of Nottinghamshire Police.
“While supporters do sometimes get a bad reputation, most of them are there to enjoy the football and the day, with many attending with their families and people of all ages going into the grounds.
“Our message has always been clear when it’s come to encouraging fans to ensure the game is enjoyed safely by all, and on the whole, the vast majority respect that and don’t cause any trouble.
“In fact, by providing a visible police presence on matchdays like we do, we try to make our officers as approachable as possible and engage with home and visiting supporters alike.
“As in society, however, we do occasionally come across those who don’t behave themselves and are disruptive, and when this happens, they are dealt with robustly by our policing teams.”
This was evident at different stages of the 2024/25 season, with police activity at matches leading to 53 suspects being either charged or summoned to court for alleged offences at the football.
Nearly half involved Class A drug offences, with the next most common arrests relating to affrays and reported hate crime incidents.
Of the 53 suspects charged or summoned to court, around 40 per cent were given football banning orders, while 39 of them received community resolutions or other out of court disposals.
Insp Shaw added:
“While we’re not there to ruin anyone’s fun, if someone crosses the line and does or says something that breaks the law, our policing teams will respond.
“This includes drug-taking or behaving in an aggressive or violent manner that risks people’s safety. Put simply, this behaviour won’t be tolerated and has no place in or outside a football ground.
“We have a great working relationship with each of our county’s three top teams and, between us, won’t hesitate to take action against anyone suspected of causing trouble – as we did numerous times last season.
“Whenever we receive reports of this nature, we work closely with the clubs to identify those responsible, with club bans among the sanctions available, even on occasions when an investigation doesn’t lead to a charge.
“As I’ve mentioned, young children and families are among the crowds on matchday, so it’s important we do everything we can to ensure their safety and take action if anyone lets themselves down.
“We want people to feel comfortable approaching our officers with any concerns, so we’d always encourage anyone to report any issues to us. Please rest assured that we will listen.”
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