Agenda item

To receive updates from the following partners:

·         Wiltshire Police

·         Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC)

·         Fire and Rescue Service

·         Schools updates

·         Town and Parish Councils

·         Health Services

·       Wiltshire Police

Chris Martin the Inspector for Devizes was in attendance, he explained that he was now back at work after being absent for a while.

Inspector Martin directed the meeting to the report in the agenda and highlighted the following points.

With regards to the severe fire in Waiblingen Way, 1 man had been arrested, enquiries were ongoing with over 20 police staff working on the investigation.

There had been a robbery at a local petrol station before Christmas for which two suspects had been arrested and were on bail. It was hoped that the Crown Prosecution Service would charge the suspects.

Operation Spruce was conducted over the holiday period to target crimes that traditionally increase over the festive period, for example, shoplifting. The operation included increased retail patrols and road side stop checks. There were 11 arrests for drink and drug driving offences.

There was also a rave recently on Salisbury Plain, 2 vehicles were seized and there were some arrests for drug offences.

In response to questions it was stated that although the Inspector did not have figures to hand it seemed like drink and drug driving offences were increasing. This may partly be due to the availability of technology where the police could use wipes to test people at the roadside for certain drugs. It was stated that an advertising campaign regarding drug driving and police use of drug wipes would be good, however this was something that would have to be implemented at a national level.

·       Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

A video was shown to the meeting regarding the OPCC precept consultation. The increase for a band D property would be £1 a month, taking the annual cost to £218 per year for an average property. There was a you tube video you could watch here: https://youtu.be/SnokAmvcZo8 and people could comment on the proposals here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8NQQJFW. The deadline to comment was midday on 31 January 2020.

·       Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service

At the beginning of the meeting the Chairman announced that at the request of the DWFRS this item was to be moved to the very start of the agenda to enable the officers to attend a briefing on the recent terrible fire in Waiblingen Way.

The Chairman requested that a short silence be observed in memory of Ulla Derrick who sadly died in the fire on Waiblingen Way.

Station Manager Phil Peaple give an update to the meeting. He explained that a late report would be published online after the meeting: https://cms.wiltshire.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=163&MId=12403&Ver=4.

The service had attended 5 false alarms, 8 fires and 4 Road Traffic Collisions. The fire service were called to the severe fire at Waiblingen Way just after 1.00am on the 17December 2019. There was a great response from Devizes fire station, with both appliances up and out in 10 minutes, which for an on-call fire station was very good. The layout of the flats was quite strange and the crews found it hard at first to get the right angle of approach to tackle the fire. Extra appliances were called in from neighbouring stations and Fire Survival Guidance (FSG) was issued by the control room to the best of their ability. It was believed that the fire was caused by arson although investigations were ongoing. Following the incident, the fire service undertook interventions at the neighbouring properties, comprising of ‘Safe and Well’ visits to try to make the residents feel safe, for example smoke alarms were fitted and advice given. The fire service had also produced plans of the building for future reference, as on the night they found it hard to identify which flat was which.

If anyone knew someone who could benefit from a ‘Safe and Well’ visit they could get more information at https://www.dwfire.org.uk/safety/safe-and-well-visits/.

·       Schools updates

Sarah Lowkis, Headteacher of Lavington School gave a brief update to the meeting. The headteacher explained that good governance was key to make sure schools are strong and secure. Lavington School was part of Equa Multi Academy Trust, which also included 5 primary schools in the area, some of which were Voluntary Aided Foundation schools. These schools were struggling to get foundation governors. The headteacher requested anyone who had relevant experience or skills and could become a governor to contact the Equa Multi Academy Trust at https://equa.org.uk/contact-us/.

·       Town and Parish Councils

There were no Town and Parish Council updates.

·       Health Services

The Chairman referred the meeting to the usual written updates in the agenda pack.

The Chairman thanked all the partners present for their updates.