Raising the profile of Neighbourhood Policing across Wiltshire

As we head into one of the busiest periods for Wiltshire Police, we want to raise the profile of our Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) this summer and the work they do in their communities.

Neighbourhood police officers strive to make life better and safer for everyone in the communities they serve. For many officers, this is the reason they joined the Force: to be a trusted presence in the community, working closely with people and using a range of problem-solving skills to address community issues.

A large amount of Wiltshire Police’s demand is hidden from wider public view. Many people will see our overt Community Engagement within our schools, local events and the traditional proactive work like drugs warrants.

What goes unseen though, is the work we do with our partner agencies and the work we do on burglaries. We work closely with both the town and Wiltshire Councils; dog wardens; housing associations; Pubwatch schemes and many more organisations, to achieve the common goal of making sure the place where people live remain a nice place to live.

Working together and sharing information effectively, allows us to achieve collective ambitions and utilise tools and powers that may not be afforded to one agency alone. This includes using statistical data to identify hotpots across the county where anti-social behaviour (ASB) is most problematic and increase the number of patrols in those areas.

Jenn Holton, Neighbourhood Crime Reduction Lead for Wiltshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner said: “This isn’t just about more visible patrols though. Through working with our partners to identify the root causes of ASB, and offering solutions such as detached youth work or out of court resolutions, we want to get to the heart of anti-social behaviour and serious violence, so we can create safer spaces in our communities.”  

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson added: "Neighbourhood Policing Teams are ones who the public are most likely to encounter in their day to day lives, and their contribution to policing in Wiltshire is vital to building trust and confidence in the Force as a whole.

“Their ability to build strong relationships with their local communities and our partner agencies is crucial to not only apprehend criminals, but to prevent crime from happening in the first place. They are the bedrock of local policing and effective community engagement is key in making Wiltshire safer.

“My commitment to our residents in my police and crime plan is that there will be an effective and visible police force in Wiltshire and the Chief Constable has made Neighbourhood Policing Teams central to that commitment.”

We also want to draw attention to burglary. It was named as one of Chief Constable Catherine Roper’s three priorities when she joined the force over a year ago and significant strides have been made in our approach to burglary since then, with dedicated teams set up in the north and south of the county focusing solely on burglary, enabling them to focus on investigating any emerging burglary crime series, prolific offenders and cross border offending.

Last year, the force joined the national pledge committing to attending 100 per cent of residential burglaries and in April recorded a 100 per cent attendance rate.

Over the course of the summer, we plan to tell the stories of those working in the NPTs, what they are able to help with and what you should be contacting other agencies about. This includes fly tipping, parking and dog related queries – all of which are dealt with through Swindon Borough or Wiltshire Councils but are often reported to the police.

We are also encouraging people living in Wiltshire to sign up to Community Messenger – an online system that police use to alert people to crime in their area.

You can sign up to it here: Home Page - Wiltshire and Swindon Community Messaging (wiltsmessaging.co.uk)

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