Police chiefs hail Sheffield's derby day policing operation a success

Police chiefs have hailed the derby day policing operation in Sheffield as a success, with most fans prevented from clashing.
Police officers on duty for the Steel City derby last FridayPolice officers on duty for the Steel City derby last Friday
Police officers on duty for the Steel City derby last Friday

They are planning a debrief exercise where all aspects of the police plan and its execution will be reviewed to look at what worked well and what improvements could be made if Sheffield United and Wednesday meet again.

The Steel City derby at Bramall Lane on Friday was a sell out with over 30,000 fans in the ground.

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Around 500 police officers were involved in keeping rival fans apart before, during and after the game, with bobbies drafted in from forces up and down the country to boost numbers.

The cost of the operation has not yet been revealed.

Sheffield's District Commander, Chief Superintendent Shaun Morley, said he was pleased with the way the operation worked, with serious disorder being avoided.

Some fans clashed on their way to the ground, with a firework and other missiles thrown and there were smaller clashes after the game, but large scale disorder was avoided.

Chf Supt Morley said he was pleased that there were no disturbances in the city centre after the game while people were on nights out in bars, clubs and restaurants.

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"The focus of the operation was the safety of everyone at the game and in the city centre," he said.

"There was some pre-match disorder when some rival fans came together and a couple of pockets after the game but none in the night time economy, probably because of the level of co-operation we got from pubs which closed early or did not let large groups in - it quelled the situation and it soon went quiet.

"Overall I would describe the operation as a success. We will debrief so that we can continually refine and improve the way we police large scale events such as this. We will look at each aspect of the plan, what worked and whether we can mitigate the coming together of fans in the future."

Six arrests were made over the course of the operation for a range of offences, including assault and fans being drunk and disorderly.