Agenda item

The Board will receive presentations from:

Wiltshire Police

Inspector Mark Luffman will make a presentation to the Board on “Demand v resourcing for North Wilts Policing.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

Darren Nixon (Station Manager) and David Geddes (Drone Compliance Officer) will provide an update to the Board.  Update report attached from Darren Nixon.

Purple Flag

Chippenham Town Council have provided a short film on the Purple Flag and we will receive a verbal update from Cllr Peter Hutton.

The following will also be present to take part in discussions and to answer any questions arising:

Police & Crime Commissioner

Jerry Herbert (Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner)

Chippenham Street Pastors

Michael Weeks

Safe Places & Dementia Action Alliance

Julia Stacey

Turning Point

Alex Cattelona

Trading Standards

Emma Carroll

South Western Ambulance Service

Prior to the meeting, partners had been invited to provide displays and information on behalf of their organisations for the participants of the Area Board to view.  There were displays from the following:

·       Wiltshire Council Licensing Team

·       Wiltshire Council Trading Standards Team

·       Chippenham Street Pastors

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

·       Chippenham Purple Flag

·       Safe Places and Dementia Action Alliance

·       Turning Point (Substance Misuse Service).

Partners were then invited to make a presentation/give an update to the Area Board.

Wiltshire Police

Inspector Mark Luffman, gave a presentation on Community Policing.

Matters highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the typical daily demand for the Police, the ongoing demand to undertake proactive work to safeguarding the public, the control strategy and what is done to prioritise officer time with limited resources; an overview of the Wilts & Swindon Police & Crime Plan for 2017-21 and it’s four priorities; details of the 5 teams and staffing levels that cover the North Wilts area; the role of Special Constables and Neighbourhood Policing Teams; staff turnover; the import of drugs into the County from other major cities; modern slavery, human servitude; money laundering and trafficking.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service

David Geddes (Drone Compliance Officer) showed those present two of the drones that are used by the Fire & Rescue Service and explained their capabilities, costs and what they are/could be used for.  David showed video footage of the drones in action and informed the Board of the licence/training requirements to operate the drones and that joint working was carried out with Wiltshire Police to assist when required.

Purple Flag

Councillor Peter Hutton and Michael Weeks (Chippenham Street Pastors) informed the Board that Chippenham had retained it Purple Flag status which was fantastic news for the town as evidence of the effective collaborative working between the Town Council and a range or partners in the town including the local businesses and organisations who operate in the night time economy, the Chippenham Street Pastors, Chippenham BID, Wiltshire Police, Pub Watch and Wiltshire Council.

The Board were shown a short video made to highlight the Purple Flag status. Click icon for Purple Flag video. 

Police and Crime Commissioner

Angus Macpherson reported that the County had nearly 300 Special Constables who volunteer in this role to support the work of Wiltshire Police.  The Commissioner reassured that they were constantly recruiting to Police roles but taking on more Officers obviously costs more money and it was likely that an increase in the Council tax precept would be sought to help fund rising Police costs.

The Salisbury/Amesbury incidents had put tremendous pressure on the Police force and this had had a knock-on effect to the Community Policing Teams.

The Police were doing what they could to prevent vulnerable people being exploited by organised crime, noting that drug and alcohol users were particularly vulnerable to be coerced into assisting with crime.

Safe Places & Dementia Action Alliance

Julia Stacey reported to the Board that they may have seen stickers appearing in the windows of local shops and business as “Safe Places”.  The scheme was launched in Chippenham in 2015, but had recently lapsed.  The group who were working with the Chippenham BID were in the process of revisiting the “safe places” in Chippenham to reinvigorate and promote the scheme.

The Chairman thanked all for their presentations.

Councillor Ross Henning reported that there was a Community Safety Forum in Calne and asked if there was anything similar in Chippenham.  Vicky Welsh reported that there is a Safer & Supported Communities Group, which hadn’t met so regularly as late, but it was planned to get this re-established.  Cllr Henning expressed his wish to be involved with this.