Nottinghamshire Police delivering education sessions with anti-discrimination charity
They're working with Kick It Out to help kick hate offences out of football
Nottinghamshire Police are working alongside the national charity Kick It Out to help kick hate offences out of football - on and off the pitch.
It's as the fore recently agreed a joint approach with all three local professional clubs about how hate offences are identified, reported, investigated and resolved.
As part of their work with the anti-discrimination charity Kick it Out, they'll be delivering one-on-one education sessions to fans as part of or instead of criminal sanctions.
Referrals can be made by the police, clubs and the courts, with participants often suspended from watching their teams play until sessions have been completed.
Since September 2022, Nottinghamshire Police has helped to facilitate sessions with three local fans and has several more lined up.
Chief Inspector James Walker, hate crime lead for Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Tens of thousands of football fans from all over the country enjoy watching live matches in our force area every season.
“The vast majority of them do so in a perfectly well-behaved manner, but sadly there remains a small minority who view football as an excuse to do and say things that are just totally unacceptable.
“We have no desire to take the fun or the atmosphere out of the game, but there is a line that should never be crossed. For us as police officers that line is any racist, sexist, homophobic or other hate related abuse.
“Once that line is crossed we are compelled to take action with arrests, criminal investigations and where appropriate prosecution at court.
“We always take into account the views of the victim and any previous offending before any referral to Kick it Out. These education sessions are so powerful because they give us an opportunity to work in partnership with clubs and fans to change behaviour, reduce reoffending and take hate out of football. Feedback from recent referrals has been extremely positive from all those involved.
“Ultimately, we want everyone to feel welcome at football games and this initiative will form an even larger part of this work going forward.”
Two recent referrals to the sessions came after antisemitic posts were shared on social media after a game between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.
The force’s Designated Football Officer opted for a Restorative Justice approach - and so collaborated with the club - making sure the pair were banned from entering the Nottingham Forest ground until they'd received an education session with the charity.
The education sessions are delivered by Kick it Out Fan Education Manager Alan Bush, a lifelong Newcastle United fan and former antisocial behaviour officer in the social housing sector.
He said: “Since I started working with Nottinghamshire Police in September the response from the force has been fantastic. So far, we’ve worked with three local fans and the sessions have gone really well.
“It’s important that people understand that my role is about education and not punishment.
“The sessions I put on can be challenging and they can be very uncomfortable, but punishment alone doesn’t bring about what we are trying to achieve.
“Only education can properly challenge and change the way people behave and make them realise what they can lose.
“So, while my sessions can be very uncomfortable – and I have had people cry in them – this isn’t about me sitting someone in a room and berating them for two hours, because that isn’t education.
“I want people to have a positive experience and take something meaningful away – because that is what education is about.
“Some of the people I sit down with have said and done really awful things. They are often people I’d not want to socialise with but I do want to try and understand them; to understand what is going on in their lives and to understand why they have behaved in the way they have.
“Most fans respond very well to this approach and do change their behaviour as a result. Out of all the sessions I have delivered across the country I am only aware of one fan reoffending.
“So, this approach really does work and is helping to make the game better for everyone.”