A total of 44 Bluebirds supporters were arrested at league and cup matches last season, which is the lowest tally for many years. Although the figure was the joint fourth-highest in the Championship, it nevertheless represents a significant improvement on previous seasons.
The list of the twenty Premier League and Football League clubs with the most arrests in 2010/11 reads as follows:
276 – Manchester United
149 – Leeds United
126 – Sunderland
123 – Newcastle United
108 – Manchester City
107 – Arsenal
103 – Aston Villa
74 – Birmingham City
74 – Chelsea
70 – Stoke City
68 – West Ham United
66 – Liverpool
52 – Bolton Wanderers
51 – Millwall
50 – Wolverhampton Wanderers
49 – Middlesbrough
48 – Tottenham Hotspur
45 – Everton
44 – Bristol City
44 – Cardiff City
The Championship arrest figures were:
149 – Leeds United
51 – Millwall
49 – Middlesbrough
44 – Bristol City
44 – Cardiff City
41 – Burnley
35 – Swansea City
34 – Nottingham Forest
27 – Coventry City
26 – Queens Park Rangers
26 – Sheffield United
25 – Crystal Palace
25 – Derby County
23 - Barnsley
23 – Leicester City
22 – Portsmouth
20 – Ipswich Town
20 – Preston North End
18 – Hull City
15 – Doncaster Rovers
12 – Norwich City
11 – Reading
8 – Watford
5 – Scunthorpe United
Cardiff City’s arrest figures break down as follows:
14 – Public disorder
10 – Alcohol offences
10 – Violent disorder
5 – Pitch incursions
2 – Missile throwing
2 – Offences against property
1 – Racist of indecent chanting
These figures represent a massive improvement on previous seasons. The total numbers of City fans arrested during the last five campaigns were:
2006/07 – 89
2007/08 – 90
2008/09 – 89
2009/10 – 117
2010/11 – 44
The improvement in the behaviour of the club’s supporters since the move from Ninian Park to the Cardiff City Stadium is evidenced by the fact that just nineteen fans were arrested during home matches in 2009/10 and 2010/11 combined. The figures for the past five seasons were as follows:
2006/07 – 44
2007/08 – 25
2008/09 – 31
2009/10 – 8
2010/11 – 11
There were 61 new banning orders imposed upon Cardiff City fans during 2010/11, which was the highest number in all four divisions. Chelsea came second in the list with 58 fresh banning orders. Those figures are no great surprise as the majority of the banning orders for both clubs relate to arrests made following the trouble at the FA Cup third round fixture in February 2010. Most of the supporters who were charged with offences after that match were prosecuted during the 2010/11 campaign, hence the large numbers of banning orders.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the latest set of figures from Cardiff’s point of view is the large reduction in the number of arrests for offences involving violence and public disorder. The totals for the last five seasons were:
2006/07 – 62
2007/08 – 64
2008/09 – 57
2009/10 – 85
2010/11 – 24
These figures are a great credit to Cardiff City’s officials and stewards, the South Wales Police and the majority of the club’s fans. A huge amount of work has been done in recent years in an attempt to improve the behaviour of the Bluebirds’ support and that work has been paying dividends, as the latest Home Office statistics demonstrate. Hopefully, those in authority at other clubs and police forces around the country will start to take notice of these figures and the restrictions our fans often have to face when we travel to away games will be relaxed accordingly.
http://thelonegunmanblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/more-good-news-for-bluebirds.html