Fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 3 January 2025

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson,

Happy New Year to you and all our communities.

I wanted to start by thanking all the police officers, staff and volunteers who have been working across the holidays. 

It is vital to ensure we continue to deliver our services to the public over the Christmas and New Year period and the commitment shown by those on duty over this period is not lost on me.

This time of year is often one which sees a spike in demand for the emergency services – with more people needing to access us for help.

Across the Christmas period, we dealt with several significant operational incidents including:

• An excellent team effort in response to the robbery of the Marlborough branch of Vodafone in which stock valued in excess of £40,000 was stolen. Two suspects were arrested within 20 minutes of the call coming in. They have since been charged and remanded.  
• We were called to a dispute between neighbours in Haydon Wick, Swindon on Christmas Day following which one male suspect was arrested and subsequently charged with possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Another male was charged with criminal damage and threatening a person with a blade/sharp article in a public place.
• Our Christmas Drink Drug Drive ‘Don’t Risk It!’ campaign saw 96 people arrested for drink and drug driving offences.

I am pleased to say that New Years’ Eve passed without any significant incident with our communities marking the start of 2025 in a safe, responsible way.

Next week, our Medium-Term Financial Plan will be published which outlines our financial position for 2025/26. It will also show what action we are taking to ensure that our service delivery to our communities remains unaffected by the financial pressures we face.

All police forces are facing financial challenges and Wiltshire Police is not an outlier in this situation.

I am committed to sustaining our onward improvement, becoming a police force which provides an outstanding service to our communities and, above all, upholds our commitment to Keeping Wiltshire Safe as we move into 2025.

I am also resolute in my commitment to transparently updating our communities on what our challenges are and how we are going to approach them. 

We are constantly looking at ways we can reach all of the communities we serve. Our Wiltshire and Swindon Community Messaging service plays an increasingly important role in enabling us to directly contact members of the public with relevant information and updates.

You can sign up to our Wiltshire and Swindon Community Messaging service by following this link

The New Year is a time for reflection and for many, it represents an opportunity to make positive changes. 

With this in mind, I would encourage members of the public to consider voluntary work in their communities. 

Wiltshire Police is supported by more than 900 volunteers who give their time in a variety of roles including Community Speedwatch, Police Cadets and the Special Constabulary.

More information about volunteering with Wiltshire Police can be found by following this link. 

On 20 January, I will be taking part in my first Facebook Live event of 2025. I look forward to hearing from our communities and hope lots of people are able to join me on our Wiltshire Police Facebook page from 6.30pm. Questions will also be able to be submitted in advance via the Wiltshire Police Facebook page.

Kindest regards,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police