New Police and Crime Commissioner responds to the latest crime statistics data
Norfolk’s new Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has responded to the latest release of crime statistics data for all forces in England and Wales from the Office of the National Statistics (ONS).
The statistics, published on 24 July, cover the twelve-month period to March 2024 and show crime in Norfolk has fallen during this period by 11.6% (67,240 offences to 59,471).
Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Taylor, said: “Whilst crimes overall have seen a downward trend, in particular public order, stalking and harassment and miscellaneous crime against society, crime types such as the possession of weapons, robbery and shoplifting have all increased.
“Most significantly, we have seen shoplifting increase by 26.3% which is a worrying sign for the retail sector in Norfolk. While this is a national trend, I will be working closely with local retailers to ensure we can put in place preventative measures.
“When I launch my Police and Crime Plan consultation in September, I will be touring the county to meet retailers and residents to get their views on what is happening at a local level. This will inform my priorities for the Plan. Not only do I intend to prevent retail crime from happening, it is also important to ensure shoplifters are caught and punished for their actions as a way to deter the continual cycle of repeat offenders.
“Shoplifting is often wrongly seen as a victimless crime. I worked in retail for years and I know how much personal pride many shop workers take in making their store attractive, safe places for people to shop. Shoplifting at the scale we are seeing not only has an effect on everyone working in shops, but on all of us as the price of goods goes up to account for the value of goods lost. It shouldn’t be the case that when a shop worker starts their working day or shift that the potential threat of loss of stock, of violence or attack should be a constant issue.”
“Through my quarterly PCC Accountability meetings, where I hold the Chief Constable and senior officers to account, I will routinely be checking on their progress with this crime which threatens the livelihoods of small independent businesses, as well as the livelihoods of people working in our bigger shops where the increase in shoplifting can throw the longer-term viability of individual shops into doubt.”
“Another national area of concern is knife crime. Norfolk has seen an increase of 8.4% (467 offences rising to 506). Only this week, an incident occurred on the Prince of Wales Road in Norwich which, along with Anti-Social Behaviour, blights the local nighttime economy.”
“Although statistics are not always the most revealing or scientific method of shining a light on different crime types, I am hopeful that the downward trend of sexual offences by 7.6% is due, at least part, to better support and the awareness of services to help people who are at risk.
The Norfolk Integrated Domestic Abuse Service (NIDAS) is about to launch its social media Summer Campaign (on 29 July) to raise awareness of its service. Domestic Abuse transcends class, race and gender and affects people from all walks of life. NIDAS is funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, Norwich City Council, South Norfolk and Broadland District Councils. It is the first system of its kind in the county, offering a fully integrated service, making intensive one-to-one support a multi-agency response and making practical solutions more available to vulnerable people.
The release of the ONS data comes as the PCC’s office publishes Norfolk Constabulary’s *National Crime and Policing Measures statistics for the 12 months up to March 2024.
These figures show a 16% increase in all Violence with Injury compared with the 2019 baseline and a 5% decrease when compared to the previous 12 months. 37% of all violence with injury was domestic abuse related. Grievous Bodily Harm has seen an increase of 32% when compared to the 2019 baseline, and an 8% decrease when compared to the previous 12 months. A 9% decrease against the 2019 baseline for Actual Bodily Harm can be seen, and a 11% decrease in this offence when compared to the previous 12 months.
The Constabulary is committed to increasing the number of offenders brought to justice for Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) offences. This has included the implementation of the national Operation Soteria principles and its associated training to Investigators. Norfolk has a well-established Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) and effective partnerships arrangements to safeguard vulnerable victims.
Another initiative being delivered is DAPPA, a multi-agency behavioural change programme approach to addressing domestic abuse. Police and key partners work together in innovative ways to tackle behaviour and break the cycle of abuse for perpetrators who present the most serious or repeated risk of harm, thereby protecting the most vulnerable victims. DAPPA was implemented in September 2021. A recent evaluation has shown that across 98 nominals who have been managed on the programme, 38.8% have not reoffended with a serious violence crime since being on the DAPPA cohort, with the average cost of crime saving for each perpetrator being £2,437 per month.
To support the Constabulary's response to reducing serious violence, there has been considerable effort to provide training to officers to improve victim service and understanding of trauma, to increase awareness of the importance of the voice of the child, to improve evidence-gathering opportunities, to increase convictions through evidence led prosecutions and to increase the use of ancillary orders to protect the public and vulnerable victims.
* The Home Office has developed National Crime and Policing Outcomes under six priority areas which have accompanying measures to help focus effort on key national priorities and measure performance. As part of the Specified Information Order every Police and Crime Commissioner is legally required to publish performance on these measures.