South Norfolk Police news

An update from Inspector Richard Freeman

It’s been a busy few months for your local policing team since my last update. As our communities emerged from lockdown, we experienced a surge in demand which has tested your local policing team and policing across the county alike. Some of our partner agencies are experiencing a similar increase and this made for a very busy summer. In addition to keeping up with rising demand, my team has finally managed to take some well-deserved leave after policing 24/7 throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Rest assured, this has not prevented us from responding to calls to keep Diss and surrounding villages safe.

Striving for visibility Thankfully, the impact of our national vaccination programme has allowed for a return to some sort of normality and it’s pleasing to see the town looking busy again. We are constantly striving for visibility and availability in the communities we serve, and I’m pleased to report that officers from the Safer Neighbourhood Team were able to do just that in July and August. The team visited 52 parishes which make up the local policing area - including Mere’s Mouth on 1 July. Setting themselves up in prominent locations, they listened to key issues from residents and carried out some local polling to gather opinion. We’re also continuing to run online public meetings every three months. These meetings give you an opportunity to receive an update on our work and express your views on local policing priorities and we’re keen to hear from everyone. Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in low level anti-social behaviour as our parks and open spaces reopened around the town. Throughout the summer, the team has been regularly patrolling these areas. And we will continue to educate and, if necessary,

prosecute those responsible for any damage or associated public disorder. The Safer

Neighbourhood Team is working with the Youth Support Team from Children’s Services to engage with our younger community members who frequent these areas.

Targeting speeding We’re working closely with Diss Town Council to improve the situation with speeding motorists on certain roads around the town. We’re sharing data to allow us to target areas which persistently indicate a problem with speeding. Officers will be out and about in these areas - monitoring speeds, educating drivers and, if necessary, taking enforcement action. More than 50 vehicles were stopped by police in Diss on Friday 10 September as part of a multi-agency operation to reduce road casualties and disrupt criminality. A number of officers took part in the Roads Policing Action Day, including the Operation Moonshot Team who use ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology to target known offenders and interrupt criminals using the road network, while also targeting unsafe vehicles. Partner agencies including Trading Standards, South Norfolk Licencing, South Norfolk Environment Agency, DVSA, Community Protection and HMRC were also involved. As part of the action, on the day a number of vehicles were escorted onto a designated check site along Victoria Road. A total of 51 vehicles were stopped throughout the day with 38 drivers being dealt with for offences. 25 of those drivers were issued with Traffic Offence Reports for the following offences:

3 x insecure loads 7 x driving whilst using a mobile phone 5 x not wearing a seatbelt 3 x number plate offences 5 x construction and use offences 2 x vehicles prohibited

In addition, 30 vehicles were caught speeding along the A140 and the A143 by the Safety Camera Partnership.

For now, I’d like to close by reassuring you that crime remains low and Diss continues to be a safe place to live and work.

More than 50 vehicles were stopped by police in Diss on Friday 10 September as part of a multi-agency operation to reduce road casualties and disrupt criminality. ”

Inspector Richard Freeman