Police increase patrols to tackle Norwich Airport crimes

Norfolk Police has announced increased patrols at the airport as part of Operation Servator, which is designed to "disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism".

Sgt Gary Owen, of the Project Servator team, said: "Our aim is to reassure the public that we are proactively working to ensure that Norwich Airport remains a safe place to visit, while making it a hostile and difficult space for criminals to work within without the risk of being identified."

More police officers will be spotted at Norwich Airport as part of a police operation (Image: Norfolk Police)

However, the announcement is not linked to a rise in crimes at the airport.

An airport spokesman explained: "Project Servator is all about providing high visibility policing in the community rather than being linked to any specific intelligence and we were happy to welcome officers from Norfolk Constabulary during their recent visit to the airport."

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Uniformed and plain-clothes officers will be at the site over the coming months, as well as officers from other departments including dog units or armed officers.

A spokesman for Norfolk police said: "Project Servator launching at Norwich Airport is not in response to a specific threat or rise in crime.

"Our deployments are deliberately unpredictable, meaning they are planned proactively rather than in response to particular crime patterns and trends.

"By working to identify hostile reconnaissance, Project Servator aims to disrupt that activity and prevent criminals from being able to carry out their plans.

"Due to the huge success of Project Servator in other locations across Norfolk – which has resulted in arrests for a broad range of offences, including drugs and weapons being removed from the streets – we have launched at Norwich Airport to reassure the public that we are proactively working to ensure that Norwich Airport remains a safe place to visit, whilst making it a difficult space for criminals operate."

Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Giles Orpen-Smellie, declined to comment.

However, the Green candidate for the upcoming PCC election, on May 2, Martin Schmierer, has questioned if the operation is a good use of stretched police resources.

Former mayor, Martin Schmierer, is the Green Party councillor for the Mancroft ward (Image: SIMON FINLAY)

Mr Schmierer, a former mayor of Norwich and city councillor for the Mancroft ward, said: "Seeing that the police are set to increase patrols at the airport will come as a disappointment and shock to many residents in the city centre who were told by the police at a recent meeting - which I and other Green Party councillors attended - that the number of community police officers for the city centre was going down.

"There is a disproportionate amount of crime in the centre of Norwich (Mancroft and Thorpe Hamlet) when compared to the rest of Norfolk - and the rest of the country.

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"The types of issues that get reported to me range from county lines drug dealing, drug abuse, to other crimes like graffiti and fly-tipping as well as thefts from shops and other businesses.

The airport has said that the increased police presence is not in response to any specific intelligence (Image: Newsquest)

"Sadly, residents are telling me that the problems are getting worse. A reduction in community policing for the city centre has led to fears that we will see these types of crimes increasing and I can totally sympathise with these concerns.

"There definitely needs to be more visible policing in areas with higher crime rates, especially the centre of Norwich."