Agenda item

To receive updates from any of the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning

·       Group (CCG)

·       Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

·       Local Youth Network

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

Some written updates have been received and are included in this agenda.

Updates were received from the following partners:

·       Wiltshire Police

The Area Board received a verbal update from Inspector Al Lumley. An overview was provided of the performance over the last 12 months to August 2021, which included the following points:

·       Inspector Lumley drew attention to comparative data tables, included in the agenda pack, which illustrated how Warminster compared to the rest of the Police force.

·       It was noted that there were no irregularities for Warminster and that crime types taking place in Warminster were similar to that experienced by the rest of the force.

·       Stop and Search data was provided, and this aligned with what had happened in the last quarter across the rest of the force.

An overview of the local priorities for Warminster was provided, which included the following areas:

·       Officer Verification Checks – Following the tragic events of the Sarah Everard murder in London, there has been a loss of confidence in the Police force. Wiltshire Police have been working hard to rebuild this confidence and have set up a process whereby a member of the public can ask for the officer to verify their business is genuine and lawful. This is completed through the Police radio on loudspeaker in order to offer reassurance.

·       Drug Dealer Conviction – Following an investigation, Wiltshire Police have secured a custodial conviction for a prolific Warminster drug dealer. The sentence will be for 32 month and teams are focused to ensure that the individual’s void is not filled by his peer group.

·       Op Sceptre – Plans have been put in place for the annual Op Sceptre, which focuses on knife crime reduction within communities. This involves amnesty bins placed in key locations as well as multi-agency enforcement against those believed to be carrying or distributing weapons.

·       Remembrance Parades – As Warminster has a special tie to the military, the Police team have been working with partners to effectively run safe remembrance parades.

·       Community Engagement – Work has been done to increase community engagement opportunities, to ensure that the Police are available to as many people as possible. This included being interviewed on Warminster Community Radio as well as reinvigorating a number of pre-Covid drop-in locations.

Following the verbal update there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

• It was questioned what efforts are being taken to ensure that the caught drug dealer doesn’t return to old ways following future release. Inspector Lumley stated that work is being done with partners on rehabilitation and future prevention. Additionally, meetings will take place to review the potential of placing a serious crime prevention order on the individual once they have been released.
• It was clarified that the nearest community amnesty bin will be located in Trowbridge due to Warminster having a low knife crime number. There would be 14 amnesty bins in total for the operation.

• Thanks were offered to the local Police team for their support given to Kingdown School and additionally to Kevin Harmsworth and the rural crime team for re-establishing ties with the villages and parishes.

• Wiltshire & Swindon Police and Crime Commissioner

The Area Board received a verbal update from newly elected Police and Crime commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Philip Wilkinson. The PCC introduced himself to the Area Board and outlined the following:

·       Rural Crime – The PCC stated that there are plans to reinforce and improve the rural crime team, an example being by giving the team more vehicles. The rural crime team would also be reinforced by other Police assets, such as cars and dogs, as it has been acknowledged that one team alone cannot cope with such issues as hare coursing. This would allow for a greater targeted Police resource against rural crime, which often involves the same groups and offenders.

·       Community Speed Watch – It has been acknowledged that Community Speed Watch teams are not happy and to improve this, the teams will be organised into regional groups corresponding to one coordinator lead. This will allow information to be shared better and to therefore identify speeding hotspots from the data. Currently one mobile camera has been purchased with another two ordered and so far, one camera alone has produced 1,000 speeding tickets a month. The aim is to have eight cameras county wide.

·       Regional Police Force – The PCC noted that though there will not be a regional Police force, however there is an aim to be better coordinated with assets. This approach has the aim of making the South West a hostile environment for criminals and to drive offenders and crime away.

·       Police Representation – It has been recognised that society has changed along with the threats posed by criminals, therefore the training on offer needs to reflect this. There is an aim to increase Police representation across all ethnic, religious and gender groupings across the county. This will be undertaken by a project put in place over a year ago, which is an operation to connect and empower more people within the Police force, increasing salaries whilst stopping discrimination.

Following the verbal update there was time for the following questions and points to be raised:

·       It was questioned whether the training would take place in Wiltshire or elsewhere. The PCC stated that currently the training facilities in Devizes are old and having completed a review of the Police estate there is a need to create a Salisbury headquarters rather than Bourne Hill and to improve training facilities. The aim is for training to be conducted in house.

·       It was questioned what will happen to the old Police station building in Warminster. To which the PCC stated that a decision is yet to be made, with officers to decide on what the best use would be.

·       The dismissal of Sergeant Gavin Hucks for sexual misconduct was raised. The PCC acknowledged that though this took place before he was elected, action would be taken on such issues.

·       Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda supplement.

·       BaNES, Swindon & Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG)

The Area Board noted a written update attached to the agenda.

• Warminster and Villages Community Partnership

Councillor Pip Ridout updated that there had not been a recent meeting of the Warminster and Villages Community Partnership.

·       Local Youth Network

Graeme Morrison, Community Engagement Manager, updated the Area Board on a coordinated youth programme that had been taking place. Community First were allocated a combined amount of £25,000 at the start of the pandemic to start a year-long programme. The first four months of this programme have included conducting research, with a focus on young people living in isolated rural areas. After this four-month phase, the project will move to a delivery phase, which will look to initiate positive activities for young people from the research conducted and will work with existing providers to break down barriers. Following the initial four-month period, it is expected that there will be an online engagement event so that the five Area Boards can be updated on the progress of the project.

·       Town and Parish Councils Nominated Representatives

The area board noted the following written updates that had been attached to

the agenda from the following Parish Councils; Heytesbury, Imber and Knook, Sutton Veny and Maiden Bradley.