Agenda item

Inspector Ricky Lee – Wiltshire Police

Inspector Ricky Lee, Wiltshire Police, provided an update for attendees. It was noted that Inspector Lee had only been in the post for approximately two weeks but informed Members of his relevant previous experiences, local knowledge, and roles. Furthermore, it was noted that there had been a few changes to the team due to staff shortages, however attendees were reassured that Wiltshire Police were developing plans which looked at bolstering numbers in order to provide a greater presence in local communities and keep residents safe. It was highlighted that there was an increase in crime across Wiltshire, however this was in line with national trends and therefore Officers were not overly concerned as it was not a Wiltshire specific issue. Possible reasons for the increase were listed as more people using mobile phones and technology, greater access to the internet and greater staff numbers in call handling centres. 

The local priorities, as listed within the Agenda Pack and Agenda Supplement 2, were discussed and Inspector Lee informed attendees he wanted to liaise with Area Board Members and local residents into the future to identify their local priorities. The Chairman encouraged Inspector Lee to continue the quarterly meetings between the Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) and the Neighbourhood Tasking Group.

Sarah Holden, Citizens in Policing Supervisor, presented the Road Safety Update as included as part of Agenda Supplement 1. The Community Speed Watch (CSW) data over the last two years was detailed alongside a map showing the different CSW locations logged which, when used by Officers, could improve engagement. Following on from this, reference was made to the Qlik analytics software used by Wiltshire Police which creates interactive reports and dashboards that can be utilised by Officers to discover trends and therefore deliver more targeted enforcement. It was noted that Wiltshire Council were looking at create a similar dashboard with regard to traffic survey data. Officers highlighted that attendees could review all dashboard data online in the near future once it had been published and available for public sight.

Two new roles were then explained, namely: Community Road Safety Officers (CRSO’s) and Community Speed Enforcement Officers (CSEO’s). It was noted that these roles had been created as a result of the uplift programme and that Officers in these roles were a dedicated resource that residents and Members could contact if needed.

A quick overview of Police Operations was then given with regard to initiatives around reducing uninsured driving, impacts of people driving uninsured, the importance of said initiatives and highlighting that the SP9 and SP4 postal districts were within the top 10 uninsured postal districts in Wiltshire.

Lastly, wider work undertaken across the County in December 2022 was discussed with reference to seized vehicles, and drink and drug driving arrests. Officers encouraged residents and Members to have a look at the Wiltshire Specialist Ops Twitter account which would give more up to date information for people to follow. The account can be found through the following link: Wilts Specialist Ops (@WiltsSpecOps) / Twitter.

The Chairman thanked all Officers involved for the comprehensive presentation and expressed anticipation for future updates.