I am all too aware that confidence in policing across the UK has been damaged as the public become aware of the horrendous serial offending of former Metropolitan Police Officer David Carrick.  I recognise that the residents of Norwich North expect swift action to remove from policing those who display similar behaviours and better safeguards to prevent those with the wrong values from joining the profession. 

Norfolk Constabulary are taking extensive action to root out corrupt or criminal individuals including proactive investigations, changes to vetting and vetting procedures. They have established a new regional anti-corruption team who will use specialised tactics  to develop intelligence about the behaviours of police employees and commence misconduct investigations where necessary. 

I have also been assured that Norfolk Constabulary will fully comply with all recommendations from the recent inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Policing, Fire and Rescue Services into police vetting. 

I recognise that it may take time to repair trust in policing but having recently received information from the Chief Constable, Paul Sanford, I believe that trust can be enhanced through effective policing which delivers against local priorities. To that end, I'm pleased to share some positive key statistics from Norfolk Constabulary:

• Recruitment of 220 extra police officers, funded by the Police Uplift Programme. 
• Neighbourhood crime is down 36% compared to pre-Covid levels
• Significant reductions in the number of active 'county lines' and in turn there have been decreases in the number of drug related deaths in the County. 
• 'Operation Moonshot' has targeted cross-border criminality by arresting 317 suspected criminals, removing 163 dangerous or uninsured vehicles from our roads and recovering over £1m of illegal drugs.

If I can help constituents with any matter, please do email me at chloe@chloesmith.org or call me on 01603 414478.