Megan (not her real name) is a survivor of domestic abuse. She endured it for years, but she would never go to the police.
“I didn’t feel comfortable at the time to go to the police,” she said. “Even now I’m not sure I would.
“I just don’t see how they could help.
“People always report these types of crimes, and they never seem to go anywhere, so I didn’t”.
A report last year concluded that confidence in policing was at a new low.
This could be because of the often negative media coverage on the police’s handling of cases, especially when it comes to violence against women and girls.
When it comes to ethnic minorities the report says that confidence is even lower.
Black people are seven times more likely to die when restrained by the police than white people.
Cases such as Chris Kaba, Oladeji Omishore and Godrick Osei are just some recent examples of the disproportionately high numbers of deaths.
So what about crime in Norwich?
The overall crime rate in Norwich in 2022 was 106 crimes per 1,000 people.
This is 43% higher than the Norfolk rate of 74 per 1,000 residents.
Image: Police.uk
Of the 15 people in Norwich city centre we interviewed about whether they had been a victim of crime and whether they felt comfortable reporting crimes, only one had been a victim of crime.
One woman from North Norfolk told UEA Journalism that she would “always be cautious of pick pockets when coming to the city.
“I hold my bag very close to me,” she said.
She told me that she thinks the police are very helpful, and she would definitely report it if anything would happen.
Image: Police.uk
Although Norwich is one of the smaller cities in the UK, compared to the national crime rate, Norwich remains higher than the country average at 110%.
According to Norfolk Constabulary data, over 600 crimes were committed in January for the whole of Norwich.
This figure led to the decision that police in Norwich are increasing patrol in crime hotspots including Riverside and Haymarket.
The crimes which they are focusing on include anti-social behaviour, drug use and excessive drinking.
Although the news of more patrols sounds appealing, some people we spoke to say they still don’t feel comfortable with the police’s capability with more complex crimes.
Hannah, 23, spoke to me about her confidence in the police force.
“I think I would report a crime like a robbery. It just depends what the crime was and how safe I felt”.
Studies have shown shown British people appear to have lost trust in the police in recent years.
Researchers say reports of serving officers raping and murdering women, misogyny, racism and homophobia are harming their reputation further.
