The Area Board received an
update from Philip Wilkinson, Wiltshire & Swindon Police and
Crime Commissioner (PCC). The update included but was not limited
to the following points:
- The PCC outlined that
he had now been in post for three years and was currently in the
process of rewriting the Police and Crime Plan.
- Over the past three
years there had been positive improvements for Wiltshire Police,
and that they had now been taken out of special measures and
recently graded as outstanding in a recent report which had taken
place in October.
- It was outlined that
such improvements had taken place due to having a proper HQ with
effective leadership and an effective chain of command in place of
the previous committees that had been used. This was therefore
enabling the Police to have the right people, systems, and policy
procedures in place.
- It was noted that
though there had been improvements there were still issues for
concern for example the Force was still ranked in a middle position
for response times in the control centre.
- It was outlined that
as arrests and prosecutions had risen, each crime type had
decreased within the county, including domestic abuse, violent
crime, rape, and anti-social behaviour. This suggested a direct
correlation with the effectiveness of the Force.
- Wiltshire Police was
now the top performing Force for County Line disruptions per
capita, with it reference made to the joint regional work with
other forces for Op Scorpion.
- A positive overview
was provided for speeding, with it noted that previously 1,324
points, fines and courses had been awarded, which had now risen to
circa 15,000 in the last year.
- It was outlined that
the new Police and Crime Plan would include two new priority areas
of retail crime and harm caused to shop workers.
- An overview of the
work being conducted regarding rural crime was provided, with it
noted that previously the rural crime team had only had two
officers, which had now been expanded to nine officers as part of a
joined-up approach with fourteen individuals arrested since 1
October who had been engaged in serious rural crime.
- It was stated that
currently the PCC did not know the budget he would be set by
government, but previously Wiltshire had delivered more than most
other Forces in the country though they had received less funding
due to population density.
After the update, there was
time for the following questions and points to be
raised:
- A question was raised
regarding what had brought Wiltshire Police up to an outstanding
grading, with it stated that the right systems, policy procedures
and people were now in place with a performance framework now in
place for the Chief Constable who was being held account via
fortnightly meetings.
- A discussion took
place about how in the past medium and large stores had had store
detectives in order to assist with the Police to which it was
clarified that it was the responsibility of the shop to have
security measures in place. It was however outlined that Wiltshire
Police was providing support for retailers, such as advice on
internal design. Additionally, on a local level, Inspector Oakley
had spoken with the two Tesco stores in Westbury who had suggested
that in the past year they had been subjected to £75,000 of
shoplifting and that unfortunately the store detectives were
regionally allocated with the detective for this region
predominantly spending time in Frome due to there being a larger
risk.
- It was suggested that
it would be positive for the Neighbourhood Police team drop-in
session times to be shared on social media pages.