Wiltshire Police Chief Constable announces Force's new priorities

Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Catherine Roper has announced the Force’s new priorities for the next year. 

From today (01/04), Safer Public Spaces, Reducing and Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Improving Outcomes for Victims will be the priorities which will inform the Force’s operational activity.  

These will ensure the delivery of the Police and Crime Plan and will enable the Force to continue with the mission of Keeping Wiltshire Safe. 

The first priority, Safer Public Spaces, is a continuation of one of the Force’s existing priorities but will build upon the foundations already made with a focus on knife crime, preventing youth offending, Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and enhancing local policing within Wiltshire’s neighbourhoods. 

The second priority, Reduce and Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls, will focus on Domestic Abuse (DA), Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) and Stalking and Harassment.   

The third priority, Improving Outcomes for Victims, will focus on ensuring high quality investigations.  

The deliverable, tangible outcomes under each of these priorities, which are reviewed annually, can be found in the 2026/27 Plans on a Page which were published on Friday (27/03) here. 

The two plans, owned by Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper and Chief of Corporate Services John Derryman, outline the activities the Force will deliver to achieve these priorities. 

Chief Constable Catherine Roper said: “Whilst I hope our communities can see the improvements we are making to the service we are delivering, there is more to do. 

“My officers, staff, volunteers and I remain fully committed to Keeping Wiltshire Safe. 

“These new priorities will focus our efforts in the areas which our communities tell us matter the most to them. 

“I will be using my next Facebook Live event, on May 11 at 6.30pm, to share more detail around these operational priorities and take questions from our communities.” 

At the beginning of Chief Constable Catherine Roper’s tenure in 2023, she set the three priorities of Safer Public Spaces, Violence and Burglary. 

The Force has achieved significant successes under these priorities since then, which were shared with communities last week in the fortnightly letter to the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson. 

Under the priority of Safer Public Spaces, the Force has: 

• Enhanced visibility in Wiltshire’s communities – including more than doubling the use of mobile police stations and significantly increasing the number of local meetings and events our Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) attend. 

• Expanded Project Vigilant which focuses on tackling predatory behaviour before a crime is committed. 

• Utilised Neighbourhood Policing Teams during dedicated operations – including our NPTs leading a two-month proactive programme improving town and city centre safety. More information can be found here. 

• Continued to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour – there are now 17 live Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) in place in Swindon (compared to one in 2024) and 10 across the county. CBOs replaced Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and prohibit the offender from doing anything outlined in the order which can include them being banned from certain shops or areas. 

• Further developed relationships with businesses in our county. 

• Increased the use of Stop and Search. 

• Continued to tackle rural crime – we've seen a 21% increase in the number of rural crime reports made to us from February 2025 to February 2026. We also saw a 500% increase in the number of people arrested for hare coursing/poaching offences. 

• Continued to deliver strong victim satisfaction – our overall victim satisfaction rate is currently 74.2%. 

• Increased safety on our road network – we have seen a significant rise in the number of Fixed Penalty Notices for speeding offences to 16,669 in the 12 months to December 2025. 

Under the priority of Violence, the Force has seen: 

• A decrease in the most serious violent offences. 

• A significant reduction in the number of wanted Domestic Abuse offenders. 

• An increase in the conviction rates and further action being taken in rape and serious sexual offences cases. 

• An increase in the identification and recording of stalking offences. 

• An increase in the detection of drug possession. 

• Enhanced partnership collaboration. 

Under the priority of Burglary, the Force has: 

• Attended 1,855 residential burglaries out of the 1,858 reported since 2023. Of the three officers didn’t attend, two were at the request of the victim and one was following no further contact from the reporting person despite extensive efforts from officers.  

• Seen a reduction in the number of residential burglaries reported. 

• Robustly investigated a series of high-value residential burglaries targeting rural properties. 

• Continued to work with colleagues in the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) to dismantle Organised Crime Groups. 

Chief Constable Catherine Roper added: “We have seen significant improvements in our operational delivery and service to the communities of Wiltshire under the priorities I set in 2023. 

“In addition to this, I would also like to reflect upon the enhancements within our Corporate Services (police staff) function.  

“These mean we have not only delivered improved outcomes, but we have done so whilst achieving the nearly £8m efficiencies required this year.  

“The collaborative efforts of our officers, staff and volunteers have built ever stronger foundations for the next year and I would like to thank them for their dedication. 

“I would also like to thank our partners, communities and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, for their support which has resulted in these important outcomes and improvements to our service.”