20 December 2011

Residents will be able to quiz local police leaders at the click of a mouse when live community web chats are rolled out across the county in the New Year.

It follows a pilot online meeting hosted by Norwich policing commander, Superintendent Paul Sanford, on the Constabulary’s website on Monday.

During the hour-long meeting, members of the public posed direct questions around a host of issues including the challenges of policing Norwich’s night-time economy, Special Constabulary recruitment and how police deal with traffic offences.

Supt Sanford answered questions, posted some facts and figures and thanked members of the online community for getting involved. In all, 44 people got involved in the ‘chat’ and more than 176 people watched or have since read a transcript of the meeting.

Virtual meetings will be rolled out across the rest of the county, offering people an alternative and - for some - more convenient way to raise issues with police leaders or comment on specific policing issues. They will complement existing Safer Neighbourhood Team events held at local community venues.

“The live chat gave people the chance to ask me questions about local policing from their comfort of their own homes or office,” said Supt Sanford.

“We see this as a particularly useful alternative for those who cannot easily attend face-to-face police events, either through mobility, location or because it doesn’t fit in with their own schedule. It was great to listen to local concerns and be able to respond to these instantaneously.”

The meeting was promoted as part of the police #Nightlive campaign, which saw films, photos and updates from officers policing Norwich’s Prince of Wales Road posted direct to the Constabulary’s social media channels overnight on Friday.

The campaign, throwing light on the challenges of public order policing, aimed to raise awareness of key personal safety advice for revelers over the festive season. The footage has already been viewed more than 1,900 times.

Questions posed included one from Steve who asked “I'm a disabled person and I'm quite friendly with a PCSO in my area. He's known me for years and knows about the problems I've been having in my area and still am having. I've been told there's going to be a different PCSO in my area from January. Why is this happening?”

‘John’ asked “How much of a drain on your resources is having to deal with the "night-time economy"? I thought the #nightlive coverage was interesting but it always astounds me how many officers you have to commit to dealing with drunken behaviour. Do the pubs/clubs contribute towards your efforts?”

Free software called CoverItLive was used to host the online meeting on the Constabulary’s website. Future meetings will also be held in the evenings to allow day-time workers the chance to get involved.

A full transcript of the meeting is available where links to the #Nightlive footage can also be found.

Details of future online police meetings will be made available on the Norfolk police website, issued via the Police Direct community messaging service and publicised locally.