PCC statement on latest crime figures for Norfolk

Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lorne Green, has released the following statement in response to the publication of recorded crime data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for England and Wales.

The quarterly statistics, released yesterday by ONS, cover the 12-month period to the end of September 2020.

“These latest crime figures show that Norfolk still has a low crime rate relative to elsewhere in the country. It remains a safe place to live and, thankfully, the daily lives of the majority of our residents are untouched by criminality.

“That said, there are elements of this latest crime report that are concerning – for me as PCC and, no doubt, for Norfolk’s communities.

“In crime categories such as burglary, robbery and theft, we continue to see the number of reported offences fall. Based on these figures, Norfolk has the third lowest rate for residential burglary in the country – something which is to be welcomed.

“However, figures for drug crime, knife crime, violent and sexual offences are continuing to rise.

“Whilst I hear the Constabulary’s explanations with regards to changes to and better compliance with recording standards, more victim confidence to report crimes such as sexual abuse and targeted proactive policing pushing up drug crime figures, why we find ourselves in this position requires greater scrutiny.

“My responsibility as Police and Crime Commissioner is to hold the Chief Constable to account and therefore I will be challenging him to provide an explanation for these figures at the next Police Accountability Forum, which will be held next month and available for viewing by the Norfolk community on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner website.”

To view the crime data for Norfolk, visit the ONS website

The next Police Accountability Forum meeting will take place on Tuesday 9 March. Further details will be published on our website in due course.