Norfolk PCC holds Chief Constable to account with public questions as part of her fourth PCC Accountability Meeting this year

What priority are Norfolk Police giving to non-criminal hate incidents given recent controversial cases elsewhere in the country?

The Chief Constable started his response by stated he is aware that this is a topic that has had a lot of debate recently, and at a national level, as a police force they follow national policy and guidance. He stated that as a force, they follow guidance from the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), who have both written to the Home Office recommending that as an interim step, non-crime hate incidents are removed pending the outcome of a review that is being undertaken by the Home Office. The Chief Constable stated he hopes for that review to be published promptly, because he thinks national guidance in this respect would be really helpful. He anticipates publication in December. He continued that the position the college and NPCC are advocating is that, at the moment, police forces should record, but only take further steps when a clear risk of harm is present. The Chief Constable continued to say that there are many priorities facing policing, but when it comes to this arena, it is only when those matters actually hit the threshold of being a crime that he would call them a priority. He continued to make explicitly clear that hate crime will be a priority, but he thinks they need to be careful as a service as to what they do about non-criminal matters. He concluded that he hopes the guidance that is due to come out later in the year will make that clear, and then whatever the guidance is, they’ll be following that national position.

Explain and justify your decision to produce guidance that allows biological male suspects to request strip searches being performed by female officers.

The Chief Constable started his response by stating that the likelihood of this occurring in Norfolk Constabulary is incredibly small, and whilst he appreciates the public interest in this, the level of interest is far greater than the occurrence. He continued to state that their policy is in line with national guidance, which was issued by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in May 2025 following the UK Supreme Country Judgement, and that guidance was issued to all forces. He said that this was based on sound legal advice in consultation across policing and other agency, and the guidance reflects the supreme courts interpretation of the Equality Act. The Chief Constable said the guidance makes clear that searches, including searches which expose intimate body parts, should be carried out by police officers and staff of the same biological sex as the detained person, and that the guidance is clear on that. He said that there may be very limited exceptions considered where someone requested to be searched by a police officer by their lived agenda, but in such cases the guidance is explicit that any search not conducted in line with biological sex must have written consent by both the detainee and the officers carrying out the search – he said that with this, they don’t make anyone do anything as the consent must be there, and must also be authorised by another officers. The Chief Constable summarised by stating that they follow national guidance, but he repeated that the occurrences of such an occasion are remote.

Why have you disregarded the safety of wheelchair users, blind people, and parents with push chairs by de-criminalising parking on pavements, drop curbs, yellow lines etc., allowing vehicle users to park anywhere with no consequences?

The Chief Constable started his response by stating that he can only imagine that for a wheelchair user, someone who has sight loss or is partially sighted, or those with push chairs, it must be frustrating and limiting for them, especially when they cannot access their home or parts of the street that they want to access, and he doesn’t think it is fair on people in those circumstances that they can’t. He said he has every sympathy for that position.

The Chief Constable stated that following a change in the law about responsibility for on-street parking, it was transferred from police to local authorities in the process of civil parking enforcement, which changed in the Traffic Management Act 2004, allowing local councils to enforce parking restrictions like double yellow lines. He stated that, in general, on street parking offences are now a civil matter, and that the days of Constabulary employed traffic wardens ended at that point, and that those effects came into effect in Norfolk in 2011.

The Chief Constable stated that whilst general parking offences is now a civil matter, other offences may apply if vehicles are parked in such a way that a hazard is caused. He stated that there are offences under Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act, and Section 137 of the Highways Act relating to vehicles being left in a dangerous position or condition or wilful obstruction of the highway. He stated that with this, there are options available to policing, but continued that of course their resources are finite, and that as an organisation they receive 450,000 calls a year, and they are seeing increases in demand across a number of areas such as domestic abuse. He said that he doesn’t want to trivialise the issue, but there needs to be a balance in terms of what they can do in this space.

The Chief Constable stated that where there are problems that are persistent, he would expect individual officers to assess and consider enforcement on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances. He stated that proportionate response could include education before enforcement, but he thinks for some people who regularly find themselves inconvenienced more because of persistent parking behaviour then enforcement should be an option they would take.

The Chief Constable said that they have a problem whereby our city and towns are old and not designed for the volume of motor vehicles that we have, and that can create tension and conflict, but he reiterated that it is important people have freedom to move around their own home.

The Chief Constable concluded by acknowledging a particular location in Wymondham that was reported to him to be a location with persistent problems in relation to parking. He said he would be asking his team to look specifically into this location to see what can be done, whether it be some form of enforcement or problem solving.

Norfolk Constabulary has a strong following on social media, could police use these channels and other media to educate people about the highway code changes that came in on January 2022, with specific reference to rules H1, H2 and H3? These changes are very sensible but few people seem to be aware of them.

The Chief Constable opened his response by stating that he believes there was a similar question at a previous PAM back in April, and that he provided a response then that he won’t repeat in full detail. With this, he continued to say that he certainly said back in April that they do indeed use those channels for messaging, with a primary focus on fatal 4 offences, which are the main causes of the fatalities that take place too often on our roads. However, the Chief Constable took an action from PAM back in April to look at the Constabulary’s communications in that space with regard to the highway code changes that are referencing in the question. With this, he said they published a piece entitled ‘Share the road responsibly’ on the news section of their website, which was linked to their social media output on 10^th June to coincide with the National Two Wheel Operation Campaign. He said within this messaging, they included information regarding the highway code changes. 

The Chief Constable said that their communications team are having discussion with Norfolk County Council, who have agreed to share their communications around the highway code changes too. The Chief Constable said he was pleased to see they put out posts in relation to this, including one around the 1.5 metre space gap and the importance of that.

The Chief Constable continued, stating that there is a lot that could be communicated about when it comes to crime, policing and community safety, and that they do try to not load people’s inboxes and social media with too much information, otherwise, he said, they will put out so much that it will get lost. He summarised that they looked to step-up their communications, which they have done, and when appropriate they will do so again in the future.

The Chief Constable concluded his point to say that between 27 October and 9 November, as part of a National Road Safety Campaign, they would be running some communications around darker nights which will be about improving safety for road users, and they will be looking to use that again as an opportunity to publicise the changes in the highway code from 2022.

I’ve been a resident of Norwich for nearly two years, during which time I’ve not experienced or witnessed significant issues relating to crime. However, in the past three months, there’s been a worrying increase in instances of organised harassment and intimidation campaigns throughout the city. The behaviour of the large groups of people gathering and hanging flags on public property has made many residents, including myself, feel unsafe and unwelcome in our own neighbourhoods. I’ve personally avoided inviting friends to my home due worries that they may be targeted, and I know other who have been followed and harassed for removing flags or stickers near their properties. One news reported incident involved a mother who tried to stop this group from going up a ladder so close to her young daughter’s window, only to be met with sexually abusive remarks. Similarly, there have been nightly livestreams of such groups harassing not only Brook Hotel residents, but also others passing by based on their ethnicity, colour of their skin and/or religion expression. These livestreams include disparaging remarks, jokes about burning down the hotel, and encouragement to their large online audience to identify and target these individuals. This kind of persistent public harassment endangers locals, risks normalising hate, and could easily escalate into more serious criminal behaviour. What steps are being taken by the Norfolk Constabulary to address these ongoing acts of harassment and intimidation for safeguard residents privacy and peace of mind, and to ensure that people can once again feel safe walking in their own communities?

The Chief Constable opened his response by stating that it wouldn’t come as a surprise to people that over the past few months, the placing of flags on lampposts has resulted in quite a number of calls into their control room. He said they have questions about police powers to remove flags, or requests for them to do so. He said he knows that this issue continued to be debated extensively in our communities. The Chief Constable outlined that the Constabulary’s position is to follow the law, stating that the flying of the nation’s flag is not in its own right illegal unless there’s any other criminality attached to that display. He said that with this, his officers have no reason to interfere with personal displays of flags on private property as long as there is no criminal or planning regulation breaches present in the display. 

The Chief Constable stated that the decision about the removal of flags from public street furniture is a matter of the local authority, or relevant highways agency. He said the Constabulary will not remove flags from public street furniture unless some other factor makes it necessary for a policing purpose. He proceeded to provide examples of instances where this would happen, such as if a flag has other illegal content defaced onto it, or if the placement of the flag creates a public safety hazard, such as flying in front of a traffic light.

The Chief Constable continued to say that it is important to say, beyond just flags, that where allegations have been made about criminal activity, then that is absolutely their place to step in and they’ll review any relevant evidence and take action where there’s a legal basis to do so. He continued to state that arrests were made over the summer months relating to protests when behaviour has moved into the criminal realm, and that prosecutions have followed.

He summarised that the Constabulary’s role throughout all of this is to support peaceful and respectful communities, and they just want to work constructively with local authorities in terms of achieving that and to deal with things in a formal and balanced way.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Taylor, added to the Chief Constables response by saying she thinks it’s important, with respect to the mention of privacy, peace of mind and residents feeling of safety in the question, to acknowledge the work that’s been done by the policing teams controlling the Bowthorpe area to engage with local businesses and with local residents. She stated that she recently sat in the Independent Advisory Group, where there was a long discussion on this matter, with some positive feedback from Bowthorpe residents and Costessey residents acknowledging the work that policing team have been doing with respect to that matter. She concluded by asking the Chief Constable if he had anything to add regarding peace of mind.

The Chief Constable stated that a key part of what they do is to seek to provide reassurance to the majority who don’t take part in any of this but just want to feel safe in their communities. He stated that they will continue to undertake the engagement as much as they possibly can. He concluded that they understand that protests bring significant disruption to community life.