Public to be asked to pay more to support police in Norfolk
Norfolk police and crime commisssioner Lorne Green. Picture: ANTONY KELLY - Credit: Archant
People in Norfolk are being warned they will have to pay more to enable the police to carry on fighting domestic abuse and other crimes.
Norfolk’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), Lorne Green, has launched his annual consultation on the proposed budget for policing across the county, setting out some of the key challenges facing the force in the coming year.
Mr Green has stressed the importance of ensuring the police have the resources necessary to provide strong community policing, fight fraud, and tackle the scourge of domestic abuse.
As part of the consultation, Mr Green is seeking the community’s understanding for a policing precept rise of almost 6pc (5.68pc) as allowed by the chancellor in his spending review statement to parliament recently.
This represents the equivalent of 29 pence per week for a Band D property or 22 pence per week for a Band B property - the majority of properties in the county are in Bands A to D.
In seeking people’s views, Mr Green's highlighted some of the biggest challenges currently facing policing, including the need for the force to make £4 million of savings in the coming year.
Simon Bailey, Norfolk's chief constable, said: "I regularly hear calls for more visible policing and I also cannot ignore the truly shocking rises in domestic abuse that we are now experiencing, with over 25pc of all crimes recorded now being the result of a domestic incident."
He added: "A precept increase equal to 22 pence per week for a Band B property or 29 pence per week at Band D will allow us to keep our current levels of service and tackle the new challenges that we are facing.
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"I have assured the PCC we will establish a team dedicated to dealing with the most dangerous domestic abusers across the county."
Restrictions on gatherings imposed by the coronavirus pandemic mean the consultation will, out of necessity, be taking place online this year, with all the information and a short survey available on the Norfolk PCC website.
There will be an online Q&A session with Mr Green and Mr Bailey on January 12 which will be open to all.
