Agenda item

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

To receive an update on local police matters from Inspector Louise Oakley, Warminster Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) and Sgt Susan Malkinson, Salisbury NPT.

Catherine Roper, Wiltshire Police Chief Constable apologised that she was in attendance virtually and had been unable to make the meeting in person. Under her update she would over the strategic position of Wiltshire Police and colleagues that were in attendance would cover local issues.

It was stated that in the summer of 2022 Wiltshire Police were put into the Engage process, which was similar to special measures, as the service had not been performing well enough. The Chief Constable had joined in March 2023 and set about looking how to address issues and make improvements. Issues that had been raised resulting in the Engage process included that there was no strategy, no framework, people were not held to account, and the control room had not been delivering satisfactory responses to 999 and 101 calls.

The Chief Constable had looked to swiftly make improvements, the force was on a journey but had improved. His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) undertook independent assessment and acknowledged that they had improved. Resources in the control room had been increased, dedicated neighbourhood teams had been reintroduced, and people were now being held to account. The force had come out of the Engage process in May 2024.

A summary of the latest HMICFRS report and findings could be seen on the Wiltshire Police website here: 

https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/news/wiltshire/news/2024/august-2024/Wiltshire-Police-improvements-recognised-in-latest-PEEL-inspection-report/. Significant improvements had been evidenced. The force were now 17th in the country out of 43 in the control room in terms of response times, which was a vast improvement. They had more officers than they have had for a decade. Recruitment had now been paused as all roles were full. The force would continue working to improve until they were rated as outstanding.

Area Board Members expressed disappointment that the Chief Constable had been unable to attend in person and hear firsthand what the threat of speeding on South West Wiltshire’s community area’s roads meant day by day, and it was highlighted that the community area had the highest incidence of fatal Road Traffic Collisions (RTCs) in any Wiltshire Council community area. Examples were provided to highlight problems such as speeding in Donhead St Mary and Tisbury. Members requested the support of enforcement teams to help tackle the problems. 

Members further queried whether speeding enforcement had increased and would like to see evidence of where enforcement had taken place. Members pondered whether there was a lack of communication in relation to the enforcement that did take place. The A350 was highlighted as an issue, however under a speed assessment had not met the 85th percentile, but that did not mean that speeding did not take place there and more enforcement was requested. 

The Chief Constable stated that she had received the detailed questions from the Area Board in relation to these issues and would provide a written response to them along with the overlay maps requested, and that she understood that they did not think the enforcement undertaken was sufficient. Members thanked the Chief Constable and would await her response.

A member of the audience highlighted issues on the A30. The clerk to Bishopstone Parish Council hoped that enforcement was not restricted to just supporting Community Speed Watch (CSW) groups, as they used to have a CSW but for various reasons this had now ceased to operate. Speeding issues on the C12 through the Chalke Valley were highlighted. The clerk also gave positive feedback, stating that they had noticed the increase in community policing and increased police visibility in their village and this was welcomed.

In response to a question as to whether there was the facility on the police ICT systems to upload video footage, for example from helmet or dash cameras, it was stated that there was. The link for details regarding this could be seen online here: https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rs/road-safety/making-a-road-traffic-incident-report/ and the link to report an incident is at the bottom of the page. As feedback a parish Cllr from Donhead St Mary highlighted that they had difficulties uploading video footage from AutoSpeedWatch (ASW) cameras as it took 20 minutes to upload each one, likewise they were unable to upload PDF’s. They also thanked the police for solving local drug related anti social behaviour (ASB) problems. The Chief Constable thanked people for the feedback and would take away the issues to look at further.

Hindon Parish Council had some positive feedback about their local speed enforcement officer who was very engaged. Hindon had a CSW team, however they had an issue with the logic of using the 85th percentile calculation in speed assessments. 85% of the cars may be sticking to the speed limit, however, it was the ones that were not adhering to the speed limit that one wanted to deal with. The Chief Constable stated that that using the 85th percentile was a national position, and in national guidance, however she could have another look at it.

Inspector Louise Oakley, Warminster Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) addressed the meeting, stating that her team of very good officers covered Mere and Tisbury as well as Warminster. ASB and drugs had been an issue, and the team had been undertaking targeted activity to address these, such as obtaining warrants. They had run some operations in the middle of the night and caught some drink drivers. There was lots of enforcement taking place in the background which may not always be seen by locals (due to the time it took place) and from feedback it sounded like things were improving.

The team had recently focused on business crime in order to try to reduce shoplifting and would continue this work. The team had also been working ASB hotspots and collecting intelligence on drug issues, with some successes in that regard.

In relation to rural crime, such as farm and outbuilding burglaries and hare coursing, there had been a decrease this year, but work trying to prevent this continued so that numbers would not spike again. The NPT team supported the Rural Crime team in their work. The mobile police station vans had been out in the community for a few months now, with Warminster NPT getting them on a rota basis, every 5 weeks for a week. These went to rural locations and people were encouraged to come and engage with them. In response to a question from Members, it was stated that their locations were advertised on social media, and locations could also be shared with Members to help them to promote to their communities. 

In response to a question on rural crime and cross county collaboration, the Inspector stated that the forces worked really well together, and collaboration was good. In relation to a query on response times for units to get to crimes, the Inspector advised that this could be tricky. There was 24/7 cover, but distance had to be taken into consideration, so resources and location could be an issue, but they should be meeting response targets.

The Chief Constable stated that there was a daily review of response times. Under their Service Level Agreement (SLA) in urban areas responses times to crimes in progress should be 10 minutes and in rural areas 15 minutes. There was a layered approach, so that if a response team could not be allocated a Neighbourhood Team or specialist team could be allocated.

In response to a question, it was advised that issues should be reported, even if it was after the event, as the police needed information and intelligence.

Sergeant Susan Malkinson of Salisbury NPT (standing in for Inspector Tina Osborn) also gave an update. Their team had also been working on rural crime. There had been an increase in theft from motor vehicles, in particular where high value tools were stolen from work vehicles. This was across the whole county and a dedicated team was working to identify offenders. A Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) had been implemented in Salisbury city center, in particular to tackle ASB related to street drinking. Along with this there was an increased police presence in and around the city. There had also been instances of anti social driving in Culver Street car park and the team were working to resolve this. In response to a question regarding ASB in Wilton, the Sergeant would refer this to the area officer who could update Cllr Church.

The Chairman thanked all the police attendees for their contributions.