Fall in overall crime in Norfolk revealed – but knife crime and robbery offences have risen
New figures have revealed a decrease in Norfolk's crime rate, despite an increase in some offences.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics, for the year ending June 2023, showed overall crime in the county had fallen by 6% compared to the previous year with a total of 65,115 crimes recorded, down from 69,237.
The force has seen reductions in stalking and harassment, drug, public order, violence against the person and burglary offences.
Meanwhile, violence with injury, robbery, weapons possession and knife crime offences have risen.
Chief Constable Paul Sanford said: “We welcome the overall 6% reduction in crime and the figures once again show Norfolk remains a safe place to live.
“These results also come at a time when the constabulary has one of the highest detection rates in the country.
“Norfolk is a strong performing force, and my officers and staff are committed to tackling the crimes that matter most to our communities.”
The latest figures show an 18.6% increase in weapons possession offences which equates to an additional 135 crimes for the 12-month period, with 860 offences recorded in this period compared to 725 in the previous 12 months.
Knife crime has also increased by 23.3%, equating to 100 more offences from 429 to 529.
Mr Sanford added: “Crimes involving weapons or knives are taken extremely seriously and we know the devastating effect these offences can have on families and communities.
“These crimes are a priority for us, and a significant proportion of the crimes recorded will be as a result of our actions.
“We will seek to be proactive wherever possible to search, seize, and remove knives and weapons from our streets.
“Earlier this month, three men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the stabbing and murder of Joe Dix in Norwich.
“Lives are lost and destroyed by people carrying knives and this case should serve as a reminder there are no winners, and I would urge people to make a different choice.”
Shoplifting offences are up by 25.6%, with the total number of crimes at 4,185 – an increase of 854 compared to the previous 12 months.
Mr Sanford added: “Shoplifting remains one of the priorities for us, particularly in the city centre and we are currently detecting 37.1% of shoplifting offences in Norfolk, the highest detection rate in the country.
“We are tackling these offences and will strive to bring more criminals to justice, with the continued support of businesses.
“When taking cases to court it’s important these matters are dealt with swiftly and appropriate sanctions are put in place to prevent further offending.”
The figures also show a reduction in stalking and harassment offences, which has been attributed to recording practices.
The force has invested heavily in recent years to make sure crime recording practices meet the high standards set nationally.
While Norfolk Police said it “remains confident” in these practices, it had previously identified “over-recording” in harassment cases.
The ONS data also shows that:
- Stalking and harassment is down 21.9% (7,995 from 10,236)
- Public order is down 18.3% (6,712 from 8,211)
- Violence against the person is down 8.4% (28,774 from 31,426)
- Drug offences are down 7.8% (2,100 from 2,277)
- Residential burglary is down 5.8% (1,236 from 1,312)
- Burglary is down 3.9% (1,950 from 2,030)
- Sexual offences are down 0.09% (3,271 from 3,268)
- Theft is up 6% (13,283 to 14,145)
- Criminal damage and arson is down 3% (7,315 down 7,040)
The burglary figures mean that Norfolk Police has maintained its position of having the second lowest burglary rate in the country.
After the latest statistics were published, Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner Giles Orpen-Smellie said he was keen not to be complacent.
“Where we have seen a dramatic drop in some crimes, such as stalking and harassment, down by 21.9%, and public order offences, down by 18.3%, we must not lose sight of the fact that there were 7,995 incidents of stalking and harassment and 6,712 public order offences up to June of 2023 – still too many,” he said.
“Preventative measures must continue to deter these types of crime happening in the first place.
“One area I am very eager to address is the significant rise in shoplifting which has seen an increase of 25.8%.”
Mr Orpen-Smellie said he had recently met with some of the county’s retailers to hear their concerns regarding the rise in retail crime and the impact it has had on their businesses.
“In the year ending June 2022, there were 3,331 reported incidents of shoplifting and over the past year, up to June 2023, that number has increased to 4,185,” he said.
“Although this number is still below pre-pandemic levels, I suspect this isn’t a true reflection of effects on the ground. Speaking with local retailers, it became clear that not all cases of shoplifting were being reported.”
Mr Orpen-Smellie added: “I would emphasise, ‘report, report, report’, because what the constabulary doesn’t know, they can’t deal with and, at the moment, Norfolk Constabulary are identifying suspects in 37.1% of all reported shoplifting incidents.
“They have the highest identified rate of detection among the 43 forces in England and Wales and that will get better with this new system.
“I would also encourage retailers to attend their local Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel (SNAP) meetings.
“These meetings are where communities agree local policing priorities and as a result of which the police can assess how best to allocate resources to different crime types.
“At present, the retail community is very rarely represented at these meetings.
“Norfolk Constabulary has recently introduced a new Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) which will help retailers by streamlining the process of sharing CCTV footage.
“The new system will allow retailers to upload footage online thus saving time for both the retailer and the officer dealing with the case.”
On the rise in knife crime, Mr Orpen-Smellie said: “Knife crime came up in my PCC Accountability Meeting last week.
“While the possession of weapons has seen an increase of 18.6%, Norfolk does not experience the issues that more urban counties are currently having to contend with.
“If one compares road fatalities of which there were 39 last year with two homicides, it shows that Norfolk is a relatively safe county.
“What we must ensure is that the increased numbers of people carrying knives does not translate into tragedies of increased numbers of potentially fatal stabbings.
“That means working with those likely to carry knives to persuade them that they would actually be safer if they did not do so.”
The figures show that domestic abuse accounts for 34% of all violence with injury incidents.
To address this, the constabulary has developed its own strategy and actions to improve the local policing response to violence against women and girls (VAWG).
