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Chief Constable fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner
13 September 2024.
Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,
I would like to update you, and our communities, in relation to our support to the national policing response to ongoing prison capacity concerns. Tuesday 10 September saw the first tranche of the early release of prisoners, following the change of standard determinant sentence from 50 per cent to 40 per cent (known as SDS40).
As a partnership across the Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board and Local Resilience Forum, we have been working closely to prepare for this early release, with governance through strategic and operational groups.
Whilst the volume of prisoners released into our local area as part of this first tranche is low, our operational group have risk assessed every early release and ensured that victims have been notified and safeguarded where appropriate. We will continue to do this for any further release, and we are closely monitoring the impact on our communities. Should prisoners reoffend or breach their licence conditions, they will be dealt with through the justice system in the usual manner and, where necessary, be recalled to prison.
I would like to thank all partners involved for their support, and whilst I completely understand the early release process has caused concern across our communities, I hope this update has provided reassurance of the prioritisation and detailed attention that both Wiltshire Police and other criminal justice functions are dedicating to manage this ongoing response.
On Monday 9 September, I was delighted to join you at the Rural Crime Partnership meeting. This was attended by partners and stakeholders, including the National Farmers Union, Wiltshire Council, Neighbourhood Watch and Farmwatch, the MoD and many others. The gathering, chaired by Chief Inspector James Brain, was an opportunity for updates to be shared about the excellent work ongoing across the county to tackle rural crime. In particular, in relation to the two indicator crimes of poaching and hare coursing and theft of plant machinery, which will be the primary focus of our proactive activity. Chief Inspector Brain also shared updates of police activity driven through the Force Rural Crime Tactical board.
As I have said previously, organised crime plays a huge part in the threat, harm and risk posed to our rural communities. This invaluable opportunity to share experiences, concerns and thoughts for how we can further improve our joined-up approach to rural crime – which we know can have significant impacts upon people’s livelihoods – was extremely welcome. Just yesterday, as a result of community intelligence, we arrested two men for hare coursing in Burbage, with one of them being one of our most prolific rural crime offenders. My rural crime team will continue to coordinate the efforts of the Force to identify and tackle rural crime criminality and work ever closer with our rural communities.
From an operational perspective, updates I would like to share with you this week are;
To support further in the safeguarding of our communities, we are rolling out the use of Naloxone by Wiltshire Police Officers, in line with many other forces in England & Wales. Naloxone is a safe medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose in people who have opioids in their system. Special enhanced training in the use of Naloxone has been delivered to a number of officers who will now be authorised to use this medicine. This means that we can now work with a different type of tactical and medical intervention should it be required for certain calls and help keep our communities safe.
In closing, I wanted to reflect on the recent celebration of ‘Emergency Services 999 day’ which took place on Monday 9 September – a day dedicated to showing appreciation for those who work in 999 services, both past and present. This is a national day to recognise the dedication and commitment of more than 2 million emergency service workers and volunteers across the country, and an opportunity for us to locally reflect on the incredible collaboration across our 999 service colleagues in Swindon and Wiltshire.
I have said many times that policing is a privilege, and truly a career like no other. ‘Emergency Services 999 day’ is a fitting tribute to the dedication and bravery of police officers, staff and volunteers up and down the country. Locally, we celebrated the day by sharing, both within the organisation and with the public, stories to highlight some of the incredible contributions by colleagues across Wiltshire Police.
I look forward to also celebrating Uniform Services Day 2024 over this coming weekend and would like to thank the Wiltshire Police Band for supporting the event at Trowbridge Park on Saturday 14 September.
Kindest regards,
Catherine Roper
Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police