Police failed to recognise the severity of disorder said to have left a seaside town in lockdown this summer and, consequently, failed to deploy enough officers to deal with it, a review has found.



Norfolk police wrongly described the trouble in Cromer as low level. In fact, many businesses felt the need to close on one of the busiest weekends of the year amid many reports of crimes, including a rape and thefts.

“The force misread the significance of events and provided an ill-judged statement on social media referring to the disorder as ‘low level’,” an internal review of its performance over the course of the weekend of 18-20 August read.



Police belatedly identified the primary culprits as members of a group of Travellers who had arrived in the town towards the end of the week in which Cromer was holding its annual carnival.

Local residents complained that the group soon began refusing to pay for the drinks and food they had ordered in various local pubs and restaurants, as well as looting alcohol.

But, despite local businesses’ pleas for help, the police response was limited. “The force did not recognise the impact the Travellers’ presence and behaviour was having on the community,” the review said.

“As a result, insufficient additional resources were deployed and, consequently, the officers on [the] scene were unable to take positive action.

“Had the constabulary been in a position to understand the collective impact of the group’s behaviour on the community and understood the tension it was causing, it would have recognised the need to identify a specific response and apply appropriate command structures, officers and tactics.”

Among the problems was a failure to properly file an internal report that the group of Travellers had recently left Lowestoft, where police said they had caused disruption.

The Suffolk town is about 35 miles away from Cromer, which is on the northern Norfolk coast.

Though the police report said there was no information to suggest the group was going to Cromer, it was clear they were heading into Norfolk.

The review also found the failure to properly record information led commanders to make decisions without knowing all of the facts. That meant the trouble was treated “as part of normal business across a busy weekend” and officers decided moving the Travellers on was primarily the job of the council.

“These decisions combined meant that the Travellers were not moved on quickly enough and the constabulary did not have the resources available to deal appropriately with the events that occurred in Cromer on that weekend, placing officers on the ground in an impossible position.”

The internal communication problem also meant “media advisers made initial decisions without knowing the full facts” and incidents that were part of a broader problem were treated in isolation, according to the report.

Echoing an earlier apology for its response, Norfolk police’s chief constable, Simon Bailey, said: “We got this wrong and I feel terribly sorry that the people of Cromer feel let down by our response.”



The review made recommendations for improvement in four main areas: the sharing of intelligence; leadership decisions; social media messages; and how unauthorised encampments are dealt with in the future. The recommendations included further training and changes to internal police processes.

A separate review into the decisions of individual commanders is still being undertaken by Cumbria constabulary and any recommendations regarding leadership will be put in place once it is finished, Norfolk police said.

Investigations into crimes reported over the weekend continue, including the alleged rape of a woman on 18 August. Three men have been arrested in connection with the incident, with two bailed until 23 November and the third released under investigation.