Agenda item

To receive an update from Wiltshire Police Chief Constable, Catherine Roper.

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board noted written updates attached to the agenda. In addition, Inspector Louise Oakley provided a verbal update which covered the following points:

·       An overview of the current neighbourhood policing team was provided as well as the areas that they cover.

·       Reference was drawn to the Neighbourhood Policing Pillars, which were outlined as being engaging communities, solving problems, and targeting activity.

Inspector Oakley provided a breakdown of local priorities in Warminster which included the following points:

·       A question had been raised at the last Area Board regarding knife crime statistics, therefore Inspector Oakley had gone away to confirm that the data provided at the last Area Board was out of data and was from 2018, therefore meaning that Warminster did not currently have a knife problem. Further detail was provided that most knife crime reports related to domestic incidents and that Warminster was the lowest in the county for knife crime.

·       It was outlined that shoplifting had seen an increase; however, CCTV had enabled the police to catch 5 people, with work being conducted with businesses, including Shopwatch meetings and prevention work to reassure shop managers.

·       A lot of partnership work with other agencies had taken place in relation to youth anti-social behaviour crime. In addition, a youth worker who had received Area Board funding was patrolling the streets and speaking to youths. Additionally, 4 youths had been referred to the Focus Deterrent Group for their input and support.

·       Burglaries had seen an increase in January but had since decreased. The only issue recently had been shed breaks in Warminster, therefore the police had increased patrols at the allotments.

The Area Board received an update from Wiltshire Police Chief Constable, Catherine Roper. The update covered the following matters:

·       There are three operational policies for Wiltshire Police which are safer public spaces, tackling violence and tackling burglaries. This has led to greater visibility from the Police, with the force held to greater account, which has led to crime rates decreasing. For example, the positive outcome rate for burglaries had been tripled as well as violence decreasing.

·       It was outlined that in the summer of 2022, Wiltshire Police had been placed into “Engage” by the independent auditor after it had not provided a satisfactory service. Since then, the force had recently been taken out of “Engage”, which demonstrated that it is making process with investigations, protecting the vulnerable and responding to crime.

·       In the last 14 months, the Chief Constable had reorganised front line policing, with the re-establishment of Neighbourhood Policing Teams, who would not be reinstructed to other roles.

·       The police were now focusing on detective assets and focusing on the vulnerable, with it noted that though domestic violence is decreasing, there is concern that this isn’t a true reflection therefore the force is working to provide safe spaces for people to come forward and talk.

·       A new strategy had been launched two weeks ago, which shows what the Police have committed to publicly deliver over the next three years. This was in conjunction with all senior officers being required to produce a plan on a page for their workstreams so that they could be held to account.

·       Wiltshire Police had recently been inspected again by the internal auditor and the Chief Constable would publicly provide an update following this, with it stressed that there has been a real focus on trying to open the doors of Wiltshire Police to providing information to the public.

After the update, there was time for the following questions and points to be made:

·       It was questioned whether anything was being done to stop aggressive driving and speeding in towns, to which Inspector Oakley provided an example of how the local policing team and response team had worked together to arrest an individual and charge them with dangerous driving. The Chief Constable also drew reference to the road policing team and Project Zero, which had taken place across the county, for example last time in Warminster in May, 37 offences had been recorded. The team planned to return to Warminster within the next three weeks.

·       Gratitude was placed for the increased police presence in the local villages.

·       Clarity was sought regarding the rural crime team, to which it was stated that there is a dedicated rural crime team, which looks at rural crime across the county. Currently work is taking place to consider indicators of organised crime so that the team can be deployed better to hold people to account. A rural crime conference was set to take place in Tidworth next week, which would explain the future focus of the team. It was also noted that in terms of the strategy, rural crime was important as it sat under safer public spaces.

·       Assurance was sought regarding the consistency of the neighbourhood policing team, to which it was outlined that apart from promotions and circumstances outside of the team’s control, the team was now up to compliment and should not experience any further changes.

·       It was suggested that it would be positive for the Warminster Business Network to link up with the Police and Shopwatch to help reporting and enforcement.

·       The Chief Constable was thanked for personally attending the newly opened CCTV facility in Warminster, to whom she showed gratitude for their work as volunteers, as well as how vital intelligence sharing was to reducing crime.

·       Congratulations were placed to towards the Chief Constable for Wiltshire being the quickest time for a constabulary to be taken out of “Engage”.