Crime Figures: Norfolk and Suffolk

Latest figures show both Suffolk and Norfolk have a lower crime rate the the national average, with Norfolk now officially the safest county in England.

Figures released today reveal that Norfolk's crime rate is the lowest in the country, with a significantly lower rate than the national average. 

The national average crime rate is 66 per 1,000 population. In Norfolk, the figure is just 50 per 1,000 population.

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Bailey said “The Force continues to do well and, whilst we will never be complacent, we are delighted that hard work and effective partnership working with local authorities and the public is paying off.

The national average crime rate is 66 crimes per 1,000 population – we have a significantly lower rate (50 per 1,000). We aim to maintain this and to continue to impact on the crimes that cause most distress and harm to people.

We should bear in mind that Norfolk has been a low crime county for a number of years now.  This means it is even harder for us to continue to reduce crime but that is what we are demonstrating today.

For the majority of crime categories, Norfolk has seen reductions.  Where there have been increases, we have looked at why this may be the case and the analysis proves helpful in understanding the bigger picture.

There are some categories of crime that people are reluctant to report.  These are often related to domestic violence and we are actively working to encourage people to report these crimes so we can better understand them and, ultimately, take measures to break the cycle.

Equally, there are some crimes which are only reported as a result of positive action taken by Police.  These crimes are often the result of searches carried out by officers and include possession of drugs or weapons with intent to do harm.

Crime is more complex than may first appear and therefore, like all statistics, we do need to fully understand what the numbers actually mean.  We take pride in doing that because that is what helps us to best keep Norfolk's people safe."

In Suffolk, the crime rate also fell below the national average with a rate of 64 in 1000.

There was a fall in things like violence against another person and burglary.

The biggest increase in Suffolk was in robbery, which rose by 17%. 

A spokesperson for Suffolk Police is telling Heart: "The increase in robbery offences across the county has been of great concern to Suffolk Constabulary, particularly in Ipswich. In late November 2011 a squad of officers dedicated to tackling robbery was introduced. Since the squad was introduced there have been 27 arrests of people on suspicion of robbery. Eight people have been charged with offences, while 15 are on bail and no further action has been taken against four of the suspects."