N; Patrols are targeting crime hotspots and areas where the public feel unsafe across Norfolk as the first Neighbourhood Policing Week takes place

Police in Norfolk have carried out more than 700 patrols in areas where people have reported feeling unsafe via the online tool Street Safe.

The news comes as the force marks the first ever national Neighbourhood Policing Week (Monday January 17 to Friday January 21), which aims to highlight the key role of police forces in the community.

Launched locally in October last year, the Street Safe tool enables people to flag public places and mark on a map the areas where they feel unsafe while remaining anonymous. While anyone can use the tool, women and girls have been particularly encouraged to use it following widespread concern over safety following the murder of Sarah Everard.

Information provided by communities is then used to influence hotspot patrols, with local officers carrying out regular, high visibility patrols to provide that reassurance. Norfolk officers have carried out a total of 736 Street Safe patrols across the county since October last year to date, based on a combination of reports from the public and information about where crimes are being committed. Officers have also been involved in 1,531 ‘park, walk and talk’ foot patrols in the same period, giving members of the public the opportunity to talk about issues affecting the community while being visible in neighbourhoods.

Chief Constable Paul Sanford said: “The patrols demonstrate our commitment to focus on local policing, ensuring that police officers are more visible in our communities. This also enables officers to increase community engagement and address any concerns locally.

“We are working with neighbourhood policing teams and our partners, not only focusing on hot spot policing and crime prevention but also problem-solving. This forms part of our targeted approach to community policing and the action we are taking during Neighbourhood Policing Week and beyond. We would encourage anyone who wants to report an area as feeling unsafe to use the Street Safe tool.”

Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Giles Orpen-Smellie, said: "Visible, proactive and engaging policing is crucial in helping to improve public trust and confidence in policing. This is why there will be a focus on the delivery of effective neighbourhood policing through active and focused engagement in our communities in my Police, Crime and Community Safety plan which I will be launching in the spring.

"When resources are finite it really helps to target policing resources and efforts where it is most needed and I would encourage communities to continue to use the national tool and will be keeping a close eye on the resulting research which shows what makes people feel unsafe, to ensure resources are targeted where most needed."

Many of the reports to Street Safe reveal that the appearance of an area or levels of street lighting can impact people’s feelings of safety.

In December it was announced that a £240,000 project overseen by Great Yarmouth Borough Council in partnership with Norfolk's PCC, will see the town's historic Rows - dozens of pedestrian alleys that run between the town's main roads - cleaned up, repainted, and fitted with new lighting.

A new specialist cleaning machine will help keep all the town's Rows clean, and a new community safety officer will be employed to work with people who live in, work in, and use the Rows.

The majority of the funding for the project was awarded to the council from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, through its successful bid to the Home Office's Safer Streets Fund.

Announcing the funding in December, Mr Orpen- Smellie, said: "It is important to me that our response to making our county safer, particularly for women and girls, is embraced by the full spectrum of agencies in Norfolk as well as the police, and so it is particularly pleasing to see this work now getting underway in Great Yarmouth."

Street Safe was a pilot project in England and Wales launched by the Home Office and Police Digital Service last year and following it’s success the pilot has been extended until the end of March.

In the period since the online tool was launched in Norfolk we have seen the following reports from the public in each district which then enable officers to proactively target those areas:

District	Reports
King’s Lynn	75
Breckland	56
North Norfolk	45
South Norfolk	52
Broadland	39
Norwich	252
Great Yarmouth	132

The top concerns from the public across Norfolk for Street Safe are:

Environmental

• Absence of CCTV – mentioned in 208 reports
• Badly lit – mentioned in 268 reports
• Empty buildings – mentioned in 106 reports
• Poor layout – mentioned in 106 reports
• Restricted visibility – mentioned in 134 reports
• Rundown area – mentioned in 92 reports
• Signs of drugs/alcohol – mentioned in 181 reports

Behavioural

• Feeling of being followed – mentioned in 135 reports
• Other harassment – mentioned in 105 reports
• Verbal harassment from a group – mentioned in 148 reports
• Verbal harassment from an individual – mentioned in 98 reports

If you would like to report an area you feel is unsafe, we are particularly encouraging women and girls to report, please click on www.police.uk

Officers working on their own, will proactively offer to carry out a verification check for anyone they come across who appears, as a result of their interaction with police, to be concerned for their safety. A member of the public can also request that a verification check be carried out and we will respond immediately if we are asked to do that.

The Street Safe tool will be promoted via Norfolk Constabulary's social media channels. Please follow us on Twitter @NorfolkPolice on our Norfolk Constabulary Facebook page and on Instagram norfolkpolice.

If you are in immediate danger you should still call 999. Police 101 is the non-emergency number. Some charities and organisations will also be offering support, please see the list on our website if you need to contact someone for support or advice: https://www.norfolk.police.uk/advice/assault-abuse-threats/domestic-abuse