Further insights on legitimacy
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (12 months to March 2013) found that the proportion of respondents who think that the force does an excellent/good job was broadly in line with the figure across England and Wales. The same survey over the same period found that the proportion that agree the force deals with local concerns was broadly in line with the figure for England and Wales. The force’s own victim satisfaction survey (12 months to June 2014) found that the proportion of victims that were satisfied with their experience was greater than the figure across England and Wales.
The crime data integrity inspection found that call-handlers were polite, helpful and professional. Police community support officers were required on a daily basis to speak to every victim of crime in their area from the previous 24 hours unless inappropriate. The domestic abuse inspection found that the force had good systems within its control room and an automated search facility identified repeat victims. The force had introduced a checklist of questions for call takers, which established immediate risk of harm, but did not cover previous abuse or vulnerability.
As a result of the crime data integrity inspection HMIC is concerned that a notable proportion of reports of crime are not being recorded, and this means that victims of crime are not receiving the service they should when they first report a crime. The force’s approach to no-criming (cancelling a recorded crime) is generally acceptable. However, there is room for some improvement if the force is to retain the confidence of the public in recorded crime data.
The child protection inspection found that Norfolk Constabulary had a strong commitment to child protection. However, management oversight, the recording and retention of relevant documentation, and the auditing of the effective use of police protection all require improvement.
