Chief Constable welcomes latest crime statistics

The latest crime figures for England and Wales have been published, showing overall crime in Norfolk has fallen by 11.6%.

The figures, released by the Office of National Statistic (ONS) yesterday (24 July 2024), show 59,471 crimes were recorded in Norfolk in the year ending March 2024, compared to 67,240 in the previous 12 months.

Nationally, there was a smaller reduction in crime, with a 3.2.% decrease across England and Wales.

Norfolk has seen continued reductions in stalking and harassment, public order, drug offences, burglary, vehicle theft and sexual offences.

There’s been slight increases in robbery and weapons possession offences, and knife crime has also increased. The largest increase is shoplifting offences, in line with national trends, which locally is up by 26.3%

Welcoming the statistics, Chief Constable Paul Sanford said: “These results show there were 7,769 less crimes recorded; that’s fewer people being the victim of crime in our county which is testament to the hard work put in by officers.

“Officers and staff throughout the organisation, front or back office, are committed to their part of the cause, seeking justice, locking up criminals, protecting people and putting victims first. 

“We’ve seen continued reductions in crimes which often have the biggest impact on our communities such as burglary, vehicle crime, arson, and criminal damage.

“I know the slight rise in weapons and knife offences will be concerning to some people, however a proportion of these will be a direct result of pro-active, targeted activity by officers in tackling violent crime. The more we look, the more we will find, and I want my officers to be pro-active and using their powers to keep our communities safe.”

As seen in the most recent crime data publications, shoplifting has again seen the biggest increase and it’s something officers are prioritising in Norfolk, solving 46% of cases and getting justice.

“We know statistics only show part of the picture, but these are encouraging figures and shows Norfolk remains a safe place to live.”

Recent results include:

• A 32-year-old Norwich man was given a 32-week prison sentence, a Criminal Behaviour Order and banned from every Co-op in Norfolk after admitting multiple offences.
• A 35-year-old man from Stowmarket was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for thefts from a petrol station shop in Costessey and drug possession.
• A man, 47, who admitted 10 offences including shoplifting and commercial break-ins targeting pubs, takeaways and shops was ordered to wear an electronic tag for six months and engage in a treatment plan for 12 months.
• A violent and aggressive shoplifter, who threatened to stab shop workers on multiple occasions was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison following incidents in petrol stations in Norwich.

ONS statistics

• Stalking and harassment down 29.8% 
• Public order offences down 29.9%
• Drug offences down 9.7%
• Bike theft down 15%
• Violence against the person down 13.6%
• Residential burglary down 8.6%
• Sexual offences down 7.6%
• Non-residential burglary down 5.6%
• Violence without injury down 8.1%
• Theft from the person down 7.1%
• Criminal damage and arson down 8.5%
• Vehicle offences down 13.2%
• Violence with injury down 5.4%
• Theft offences down 1.2%
• Robbery up 2.6%%
• Possession of weapons offences up 1.1%
• Knife crime up 8.4%
• Shoplifting up 26.3%