Your chance to question Norfolk's Chief Constable
Norfolk residents are invited to pose their questions to the county’s Chief Constable as Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Giles Orpen-Smellie prepares to hold the second of his new accountability meetings with senior officers.
Known as the PCC Accountability Meeting, the session is a one of the key ways that Giles will be publicly holding the police to account for their delivery of the county’s Police and Crime Plan.
The quarterly meetings have been set up to allow Giles to question, challenge and scrutinise how the constabulary is serving the residents of Norfolk.
As the elected PCC, Giles is responsible for ensuring Norfolk has an efficient and effective policing service which is responsive to the needs of the county’s communities. A key part of that duty is scrutinising the performance of the force and how it is working to meet the priorities set out in Norfolk’s Police and Crime Plan.
The event on Wednesday October 20 will see Giles question the Chief Constable and senior officers, as well as putting questions to them that have been submitted by people across the county.
The first of these meetings was held on July 29 and heard that more than 30 questions had been sent in from Norfolk’s residents.
Topics ranging from how to contact local officers, dog thefts, E-Scooters, road safety and speeding were all covered in the questions, which Giles asked Temporary Chief Constable Paul Sanford and his team of senior officers to respond to.
Giles said: “Receiving so many questions for the first meeting was fantastic, it shows just how much people in Norfolk care about their county and their communities.
“There are some important months ahead of me and my team, as we continue the development of a new Police and Crime Plan and start to look ahead to what the next round of government funding will mean for our police force when it is announced later this year.
“At the July meeting it was fascinating to see the breadth of question subjects and as I’m planning for the future it is so helpful for me know what is important to my fellow Norfolk residents as well as the issues that are worrying them.
“It’s incredibly important to me that our Constabulary is delivering the best possible service for the people of the county and it is by seeking answers to concerns or worries that we can understand what is working well and where improvements can be made.”
The PCC is encouraging people to share their questions with him no later than Wednesday 6 October via the Norfolk PCC website, by email or by post.
The PCC Accountability Meeting on 20 October will be held virtually and a recording of the meeting will be published after the event, along with answers to the questions asked.
Other items on the agenda for the meeting include reports on three priority areas set within Norfolk’s current Police and Crime Plan:
- Increase visible policing
- Prevent offending
- Good stewardship of taxpayers’ money.
Questions can be submitted by 5pm Wednesday 6 October in the following ways:
Complete the contact form: on our Contact Us page
Email: opccn@norfolk.police.uk using ‘PCC Accountability Meeting Questions’ as the subject.
Write to: PCC Accountability Meeting Questions, OPCCN, Jubilee House, Falconers Chase, Wymondham, Norfolk NR18 0WW.
Questions must be a maximum of 100 words, relate to policing priorities within the county and a name, address and contact telephone number must be provided.
Full details of how to submit a question can be found on the PCC Accountability Meeting page.