More about this area

The force says...

England’s fifth largest county, Norfolk, has a landmass of 2,074 square miles and a 93 mile coastline. In mid-2016 Norfolk’s estimated population was 893,000, attracting an estimated 4.7m visitors annually, with a below-national average 56 crimes per 1,000 people (national = 74).

Although predominantly rural, 40 percent of the population live in the urban areas of Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and Thetford, parts of which are within the top 10 percent of deprived areas nationally. Policing this landscape poses challenges to manage the differing risks and vulnerabilities.

Norfolk has a two-tier local authority structure comprising of county and district councils. The constabulary is engaged with Norfolk County Council’s restructuring plans, working together to prevent and reduce harm to our communities.

The constabulary received 360,000 calls in 2016/17 recording 50,400 crimes; a drop of 15 percent in recorded crime over the last decade despite only a 6.5 percent decrease in calls received. Domestic abuse reporting increased by 20 percent from 5,084 crimes in 2015/16 to 6,084 in 2016/17 and reporting of sexual offences by 12 percent from 1,711 crimes in 2015/16 to 1,920 in 2016/17; following the national trend attributed to high-profile cases and increased confidence in reporting to the police.

In December 2017, chief officers agreed the implementation of a new, evidence-based, local policing model. The new ‘2020 model’ will meet current and future challenges the force faces by prioritising the biggest risks to Norfolk’s communities, investing in safeguarding, investigations and proactive capabilities, investing in technology such as mobile working to increase officer visibility to the public. The constabulary has a workforce of 1,502 officers, 1,075 staff and 192 special constables.

The constabulary continues to collaborate with partners including Suffolk Constabulary and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Services. Since 2010, the constabulary will have made savings of £30m by the end of 2017/18.

Disclaimer: the above statement has been prepared by Norfolk Constabulary. The views and information in it are not necessarily those of HMICFRS.