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Football fans asked to be vigilant as new season starts

Football fans asked to be vigilant as new season starts

Police are encouraging football fans to be vigilant at games and to not hesitate in reporting any security concerns to stewards or staff.

Officers have been working with the Premier League, English Football League (EFL) and individual clubs to enhance measures designed to keep supporters safe, and to raise awareness of the threat from terrorism among club employees and supporters.

While police are saying there is no specific threat to football grounds, the project is part of a wider plan to work more closely with different sectors such as retail, hospitality and entertainment to help protect the public.



 

At a special event at Stoke City's bet365 stadium yesterday, the national police coordinator for protective security, Chief Superintendent Nick Aldworth was joined by specialist dog handlers to talk about the “Know the game plan” initiative and to show how trained dogs can find suspect packages in crowded areas.

Aldworth said: “Fans can all play a role in a successful security operation and the more clubs encourage supporters to do this, the more likely they to act on their instincts and not worry they might be mistaken for wasting time.

“Most concerns will turn out to be nothing and that’s absolutely fine, It’s far better to say something than risk an important piece of information being missed.

“Our mantra is Actions Counters Terrorism. If you see something, don’t hesitate to ACT.”

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