Lorne Green marks first year as Norfolk's PCC
This month sees Lorne Green marking his first year as Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).Norfolk elected Lorne on 5 May 2016 and in first 12 months he has delivered a number of initiatives as part of his pledge to be the PCC “for every man, woman and child in Norfolk”.
- In November 2016 Lorne launched #Impact in a bid to educate young drivers about road safety. #Impact has been touring schools and colleges across the county since this date reaching more than 2,000 students at 17 venues so far.
- In January 2017 the PCC funded the appointment of an additional mental health nurse in Norfolk Constabulary’s control room to supplement the current five nurses.
- In February 2017 the WONDER project, which offers support to women in police custody to help them turn their lives around, was launched. The scheme received a further cash-boost from the Ministry of Justice in April 2017 to expand across the county.
- In March 2017 the Thetford Graffiti project was launched thanks to funding from the PCC. The project saw students from Thetford Academy and Catch22 teaming up with Norfolk Youth Offending Team (YOT) and Thetford Police Cadets to create a colourful series of graffiti artwork to be displayed in the underpass close to Thetford Priory.
- In March 2017 an innovative project, delivered by registered charity StreetDoctors to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime in Norfolk, received vital funding from the PCC. Some 110 young people from Norwich and Great Yarmouth have so far taken part in the initiative with more set to follow in 2018 and 2019.
- In May 2017 the PCC’s first ‘Barnstorming’ event was held in Snettisham where more than 50 local residents and members of the farming community were given the chance to question Lorne and a panel of experts about all aspects of rural crime.
As well as the above initiatives Lorne set out his strategic objectives for his term of office and highlighted his pledge to listen to people’s crime and policing concerns by:
- In July 2016 Lorne introduced a fresh approach to holding the county’s Chief Constable to account by hosting his first Police Accountability Forum (PAF) where members of the public were given the chance to quiz Lorne and the Chief Constable directly about policing in the county. Since this date a further three PAFs have been held in Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and Cromer with a fifth scheduled for Norwich on 22 May.
- In July 2016 the PCC joined the National Rural Crime Network pledging to champion a better understanding of crime in rural areas.
- In November 2016 Lorne launched his annual police budget consultation to gauge the public’s view on his plans for policing Norfolk during 2017/18 and beyond.
- In autumn 2016 the PCC launched his Rural Policing Strategy and hosted a Rural Crime Summit where, alongside PCCs for Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, he signed a Rural Crime Concordat pledging to work across county borders to tackle the crime issues affecting rural communities.
- In March 2017 – Lorne outlined his vision for tackling and preventing crime, protecting the most vulnerable and supporting victims by publishing his first Police and Crime Plan. Alongside his own pledge to be visible, accessible and accountable to the people of Norfolk, the PCC set the following priorities for the county over the remainder of his 4-year term in office:
Increase visible policing- Support rural communities
- Improve road safety
- Prevent offending
- Support victims and reduce vulnerability
- Deliver a modern, innovative service
- Good stewardship of taxpayers’ money.