More about this area

England’s fifth largest county, Norfolk, has a landmass of 2,074 square miles and a 93 mile coastline. The county is a popular tourist destination and the 2021 census indicates that the estimated population of Norfolk was 916,200.  In 2023/24 it had a below-national average 64.2 crimes per 1,000 people.

Predominantly rural, 50.8% percent of the population live in the urban areas of Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and Thetford, parts of which are within the top 10 percent of deprived areas nationally. Policing this landscape poses challenges to manage the differing risks and vulnerabilities.

Norfolk has a two-tier local authority structure comprising of county and district councils. The constabulary works closely alongside these partners, embedding teams who work collaboratively to prevent and reduce harm to our communities.

The constabulary received 422,880 calls in 2023/24 of which 135,453 were 999 calls.  In 2023/24 the constabulary recorded  59,412 crimes; an 11 percent decrease in recorded crime compared to 2022/23.  The positive outcome rate for all crime was 19.26% at the end of March 2024, one of the top four performing forces in the country.

In 2023/24 the constabulary’s workforce comprised 1815 officers, 1366 police staff and 148 Special Constables.

Chief Constable Paul Sanford has been in post since December 2021, having previously held the post of Deputy Chief Constable in Norfolk

The force ‘Vision’ is to deliver exceptional policing for the people of Norfolk and the ‘Mission’ to protect our communities, deliver exceptional services, and build and sustain trust.

In 2022, the Chief Officer Team established the concept of ‘Core Policing’.  This means prioritising the core services the public value the most: answering calls swiftly, getting to incidents quickly, investigating crime well, relentlessly targeting criminals and providing exceptional services to victims of crime.

Norfolk has a long-standing and successful collaboration with Suffolk Constabulary.

England’s fifth largest county, Norfolk, has a landmass of 2,074 square miles and a 93 mile coastline. The county is a popular tourist destination and the 2021 census indicates that the estimated population of Norfolk was 916,200. It has a below-national average 75.7 crimes per 1,000 people (national = 89.3).

Predominantly rural, 50.8% percent of the population live in the urban areas of Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and Thetford, parts of which are within the top 10 percent of deprived areas nationally. Policing this landscape poses challenges to manage the differing risks and vulnerabilities.

Norfolk has a two-tier local authority structure comprising of county and district councils. The constabulary works closely alongside these partners, embedding teams who work collaboratively to prevent and reduce harm to our communities.

The constabulary received 411,569 calls in 2021/22 recording 69,226 crimes; a 11 percent increase in recorded crime compared to 2020/21. Domestic abuse reporting increased by 3 percent from 13,683 crimes in 2020/21 to 14,049 in 2021/22 and reporting of serious sexual offences by 28 percent from 2,041 crimes in 2020/21 to 2,612 in 2021/22; following an increase in the reporting of stalking and harassment, and increased confidence in reporting to the police.

In 2021/22 the constabulary had a workforce of 1786 officers, 1161 staff and 170 special constables.

Chief Constable Paul Sanford was appointed in post in December 2021 following a period of Temporary Chief Constable since June 2021. Prior to this, Paul Sanford also held the post of Deputy Chief Constable in Norfolk.

In 2022, the new Chief Officer team reviewed the force Vision, Mission, and Values.

The Vision is to deliver exceptional policing for the people of Norfolk.

The Mission of the force will be to protect our communities, it will be to deliver exceptional services and it will be to build and sustain trust.