The Area Board will receive an update from the Chief Constable about Wiltshire Police and address any issues raised at the meeting.
Minutes:
The Board welcomed Chief Constable Catherine Roper, who gave a verbal update on Wiltshire Police.
The Chief Constable had been in post 6 months and described the work she had been doing since the force had been graded poorly and placed in special measures in June 2022. The reasons for this were described as:
· Not recognising vulnerable persons and their challenges.
· The response to incidents not being adequate.
· The process from when members of the public first contacted the police to the conclusion of a case was described as having failings all throughout.
The Chief Constable was very conscious that the foundations of Wiltshire Police
needed to be rebuilt, and that as trust and confidence in the force had declined the morale within the force had declined as a result.
Rebuilding the fundamentals of Wiltshire Police would lead to being brought out of special measures. This included work already underway on the business-as-usual delivery plan, restructuring the senior management and performance frameworks and refocusing crime-tackling priorities.
The Chief Constable described the Control Room as simply not good enough and stated that serious work was being done to improve the service the public received.
Other areas of improvement included:
• Visibility on the roads to deter criminals.
• Recruitment activities, with emphasis given to opportunities for those in a gap
year.
• The Evolve programme, allowing those most involved in day-to-day activity to
give their views on where improvements can be made.
• An auditing and inspections regime, ensuring progress had been made through regular reports to the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner. Every 6 months the Chief Constable and PCC attend
Whitehall to face numerous questions and explain how improvements had been made. The most recent meeting on Monday 18 September had noted improvements in organising and prioritising areas of improvement.
• The speed at which calls are answered. The Chief Constable receives a daily
report on the number of calls and how quickly the needs of the caller had been understood and actioned. Teams have arrived quicker than national targets.
Inspector Pete Foster commented that he hadn’t seen as high a level of interest and drive for improvement in his 18 years in the Police. He was also pleased that more Police Officers were available to show a presence in public.
In response to a question about engagement and intervention, it was clarified that mobile police stations had been deployed to improve contact with the public. It was agreed that more patrols in local parks and hotspots was needed.
In response to a question about prevention and using an online report system, it was clarified that all crimes reported are logged and monitored and if certain locations are deemed hotspots or certain crime types are identified then the police response is adjusted accordingly.
It was highlighted that the Licensing Committee had not seen a police presence for a period of time and the Chief Constable agreed that this would be looked at.
Erratic driving around the A350 was highlighted as a serious issue.
In response to a concern raised on policing numbers, it was clarified that although recruitment was still ongoing, numbers were better than ever, and the situation was described by Inspector Pete Foster as far better than a few years ago.
The Chair raised concerns that councillors often miss local policing engagement activities and hopes such activities can be better communicated between them.
Concerns around the length of time 101 calls take to answer and follow up was raised and accepted by the Chief Constable as an area they are driving to improve.
It was clarified that the Chief Constable is the National Policing Lead for Children and Young People and is responsible for ensuring across England and Wales continually strives to improve in this area.