Agenda item

Verbal Updates

To receive any verbal updates from representatives, including:

·       Wiltshire Police

·       Town and Parish Councils

Written Updates

The Board is asked to note the following online update.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS) online update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVJRnk705PM

The Area Board received updates from the following:

·       Wiltshire Police – Inspector Lou Oakley (Warminster NPT)

The Inspector highlighted the police reports in the agenda pack. And detailed the small team making up the Warminster NPT, which included 4 police officers and 5 PCSO’s. A focus for the team was retail crime and rural crime, which also fit with the focus of the Chief Constable, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and national aims.

Much of the focus in retail crime had been in towns and this was being expanded to more rural locations. Several Co-Op’s in the area had been burgled at night recently. Cllr George Jeans had raised some concerns regarding thefts from retail stores in Mere, it transpired that these had not been reported to the police, so the team had visited to get details. Many stores did not report retail theft such as shoplifting, so there was a focus on getting people to report crimes. Cllr Jeans thanked the Inspector for getting her teams to attend, however he advised that reporting online or on the phone was time consuming and not always easy. The Inspector advised that it should now be easier to upload CCTV to the police (via a link on their website). However, it was felt that these crimes were still under reported, and they were trying to get information out on how to do it. The PCC was trying to improve reporting systems. Her officers could always be contacted as well. The Inspector highlighted a 11% drop in retail crime across the county, there had also been a 40% rise in detection rates for retail crimes and a 20% rise in arrests.

In relation to rural crime, such as poaching, hare coursing, theft of machinery, diesel and farm equipment an operation was due to take place at the beginning of March to try to combat this. The operation was a South West regional operation so Wiltshire police would be working with neighbouring forces. There would also be several days of local action towards the end of March/beginning of April to try to tackle issues like theft from farms and livestock worrying. Everyone was urged to keep reporting crimes.

Cllr Pauline Church highlighted some recent problems with Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in Wilton, including speeding motorbikes, windows being smashed and the cutting of fibre optic cables, and requested that this be fed back to Inspector Tina Osborn of Salisbury NPT, with a request for more patrols in Wilton. Inspector Oakley confirmed that she would feed this back.

Cllr Budden raised concerns regarding series collisions in the area and the lack of information about these which Cllrs received. He felt that the Area Board should be made aware of the number of collisions and level of injuries in their area. He had raised this with the Chief Constable and the Swindon and Wiltshire Road Safety Partnership. The Inspector explained that she had tried to get data to bring along to the meeting, but that it was not easy to pull from the system. It was explained that police officers had to fill out a specific form when there was a serious collision. She would enquire if there was a way for someone to collate that data and feed it back to the Area Board.

A representative of Stourton with Gasper Parish Council highlighted raves taking place on the Somerset/Wiltshire border. The officer of the PCC had stated that they needed to get a Problem Oriented Policing (POP) plan in place to ensure clear lines of communication across the county border. The perpetrators of the raves had found a new location, so it was requested that a POP be set up urgently. The Inspector confirmed that they had been corresponding regarding this, which she was happy to continue. She would also allocate an officer to it and set up a meeting. The POP would ensure that everyone was recording issues correctly and also track what was achieved.