The Police and Crime Commissioner is the elected voice of the local community in policing, making sure that our priorities are our police’s priorities, and holding the Chief Constable to account.

I cannot recall a time when a fresh pair of eyes has been so urgently needed on our policing. I have consistently found that people serving as police officers want to do their jobs well, and protect their patch. However, the public’s trust in policing is low. Women regularly tell me that they now distrust the police, shop owners and workers tell me that shoplifting is rife and that offenders are not brought to justice, and residents of our market towns and rural villages often tell me of anti-social behaviour which is becoming a blight on their community. The idea that there is “no point” reporting a crime because the police can’t or won’t come seems to me to be increasing.

It’s time for change.

I am standing as the Labour and Cooperative Party’s candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner, because I want to make sure that Norfolk has a sustainable and highly effective police force which understands all of our communities in Norfolk. It needs to respond appropriately and in a timely fashion to reports of crime, use all available resources to detect crime and bring offenders to justice, and provide the necessary support to victims of crime.

First and foremost, if elected, my most pressing priority will be to make more opportunities available for everyone who lives or works in Norfolk to contribute to policing priorities.

Safer Streets

We all should be able to travel about our county, safe in the knowledge that no harm will come to us. I will adopt a Vision Zero approach to road safety in our county, meaning a relentless focus on eliminating deaths and serious injuries on our roads. I will work with organisations and agencies to reduce the amount and type of street violence and aggression, working to make us all feel safer in our communities.

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls

Thousands of women and girls experience violence in their homes, workplaces and streets across the county every year. National policing issues have drastically undermined women’s trust in our Police force, as set out in the findings of the Angiolini Inquiry. I will make sure that trust between women and Norfolk’s police is improved, and will act so that perpetrators of violence against women and girls in their homes are brought to justice.

Support for women and girls leaving or recovering from this is vital. I will therefore work with the agencies and organisations that provide this support in the county to make sure there is consistent and continuous support for victim/survivors of these crimes.

Focus on Prevention

It is my unwavering belief that no one is above the law. It is also my belief that the best form of ensuring everyone who lives and works in Norfolk is safe, is by working tirelessly to prevent crime in the first place.

I will focus police resources on preventing crime, as well as working with the many agencies and organisations which work to prevent crime or help people out of the justice system - helping make Norfolk safer for all of us and reducing crime for the long-term.

Improving Rural Responses

A major challenge for policing in Norfolk is the vast area our county covers, and its rural nature. I will work to improve response times and detection rates for rural crime.

For victims of rural crime, access to support services can be patchy and slower. I will work with victim support organisations in Norfolk to address this, improving the experience for people living and working in rural parts of our county, and reducing the difference between rural and urban areas.

Addressing Organised Crime

Whether it is County Lines, cyber crime or fraudulent scams, organised crime has a devastating effect on people across Norfolk. This needs to be addressed in a way which not only brings perpetrators to justice, but also enables and equips people to be able to better respond to these issues.

Shoplifting to order is having a terrible effect on our retailers. Not only can this make shop workers and customers feel unsafe, the lack of police attention on this matter means that retailers have to spend more on security and so pass those costs onto us, their customers.