An update from the Chief Constable Catherine Roper, followed by an opportunity for public questions.
Minutes:
At the Chairman’s invitation, Chief Constable Catherine Roper introduced herself to the meeting.
The Chief Constable stated that in 2022 Wiltshire Police had been put into ‘engage’ which was similar to special measures as it had not been performing well enough. The Chief Constable had joined in March 2023 and had really focused on what was said in the report. In May 2024 Wiltshire Police came out of the engage status as they had improved, however there was still improvements to be made.
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) undertook the independent assessments. Back in 2022 the force had 8 questions from the HMICFRS and had received poor grading. There had been another assessment in August 2024 where they had 9 questions to be graded on. They had improved in 6 of the areas and remained static on 2. A summary of the report and findings could be seen on the Wiltshire Police website: https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/news/wiltshire/news/2024/august-2024/Wiltshire-Police-improvements-recognised-in-latest-PEEL-inspection-report/. The force would respond to the recommendations, such as improving 999 and 101 call handling. It was noted that the dataset for the report was gathered in March, so was already out of date, with some improvements made since then. The Chief Constable wanted to ensure that Wiltshire Police was providing a consistently excellent service.
The Chief Constable then invited questions from those in attendance.
Cllr Ricky Rogers queried how often the reports by the HMICFRS were done and whether there was a better system to work with the Police to ensure that they were getting things right.
The Chief Constable responded that was a continuous programme of assessment and self-audit. It would be a bit overwhelming if there was a large inspection more than every 2 years, so the Chief Constable liked the way it was done and thought it was a good system.
Cllr Caroline Corbin asked if the force were tested on section 136 of the mental health act (section 136 gives police emergency powers. Police can use these powers if they think someone has a mental disorder, is in a public place and needs immediate help. Section 136 says police must think the person needs immediate 'care or control').
The Chief Constable stated that if someone was in mental crisis and needed support, calling 999 was not always the best response. The force was being assessed on their response to these types of calls and were trying to improve things. There was strategic oversight with the right agencies involved, they wanted vulnerable people to get the right care and to get the correct public service to respond at the right time.
Furthermore, the Chief Constable stated that the police were working really hard on engagement, they were the second smallest force in terms of numbers and covered a large geographical area. So, the force was trying to improve visibility, increase social media presence and were also working with some youth organisations. Wiltshire police had launched a Girlguiding challenge badge, and a Scouting version would be launched on 6 October 2024.
In response to a question from Cllr Charles McGrath on Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) patrols, the Chief Constable stated that a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) had been reintroduced in the City Centre and that Inspector Tina Osborn from the Salisbury Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) would give a further update on ASB shortly.
A member of the audience stated that they ran a women’s safety project called Making Our City Safer and had worked on Operation Awake with Detective Chief Inspector Lucy Thorn. This encouraged women in public life to report any misogyny received. They had been horrified by some of the online abuse these women received. They queried how Operation Vigilant was doing.
The Chief Constable stated that Operation Vigilant included ensuring that there was high visibility policing and plain clothes patrols in areas where women felt unsafe or there had been incidents. There was also training for officers such as specialist training on domestic abuse and signals officers should look out for. There had been improved outcomes for Violence Against Women (VAW) offences and arrest rates for domestic abuse had doubled. The Chief Constable would provide a written update to be included with a future Area Board agenda.
The Chief Constable handed to Inspector Tina Osborn to provide answers to some questions the Board had submitted ahead of the meeting.
Questions 1: In relation to ongoing, (and seemingly rising) incidents of ASB in various parts of the city – what is the multi-agency strategy to tackle this better than currently?
Answer 1: The Inspector stated that there had been rising reporting of ASB which gave her a better indication of what was happening in the city and enabled priorities to be set based on those reports. In relation to City Centre drinking, the police had worked hard with Wiltshire Council to get the PSPO back up and running. Signage was now in place so that the PSPO could be enforced. This did seem to have lowered alcohol related issues. 10 tickets had been issued. The police also tried to engage with offenders and signpost them to various sources of help.
MacDonalds had been a hotspot in relation to youth ASB, the police had been working closely with them to try to rectify that. MacDonalds now employed security and at certain times of day turned off the music and Wi-Fi. The police were working with some individuals that had been identified to try to educate them on acceptable behaviour.
An audience member stated that they were surprised Fisherton Street had not been raised in relation to ASB as they were aware of many occasions where shop windows and doors had been smashed. The Chief Constable requested the audience member to email her details. It was highlighted that there was a PSPO related to catapults in place across Salisbury.
Question 2: What comes next after the Safer Streets Funding programme for Salisbury? If the equivalent funding had been spent on new police officers how could this have benefitted Salisbury as a whole (especially places such as Bemerton Heath), rather than just the city centre?
Answer 2: This was a question for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) to answer so they would take that away and request a written response from the PCC. However, they had recreated dedicated NPT’s and as part of that they had successfully bid for funding for ASB patrols. So that would continue but was different to the Safer Streets funding.
Questions 3: Please can we have an update on progress to tackle business crime incidents in the city?
Answer 3: The police worked closely with Salisbury Business Improvement District (BID) who held ShopWatch. They wanted more shops to feedback on what crime was happening and they could provide advice as to how to tackle, such as using security devices. The police would be having a focus week to tackle prolific offenders. The police would engage with them first but would deal with them robustly if they did not stop shoplifting. It was felt that issues were underreported.
Question 4: How does the local Wiltshire Police Team in and around Salisbury work with the Military Police, bearing in mind the increase in numbers of new soldiers in and around the city?
Answer 4: This was probably more relevant to Amesbury, as armed forces may visit the city in the evenings at the weekend, but they had not seen an increase in incidents. They police did work with the Royal Military Police (RMP) to combat issues.
Cllr Hocking raised concerns regarding the dramatic increase in certain types of shops in the city centre, such as nail bars, barber shops and vape shops. His concern was that there was not a demand for so many of them and that there was a possibility they were linked to organised crime.
The Chief Constable highlighted that licensing for shops was not a police matter, however organised crime was. The Chief Constable did not feel that what had been described suggested serious organised crime, and there was no evidence for that.