Fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 16 August 2024

Chief Constable fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner

16 August 2024

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,

I wanted to start this week’s letter by recognising the impact that the recent widespread disorder across the country has had both on our communities and our organisation.

Whilst we have not seen the level of criminality that other areas of the country have experienced, we know there are members of our community who are feeling frightened and marginalised at this time.

My message to all of the communities we serve is clear - we are here for you and we are committed to keeping you safe.

We will always facilitate peaceful and lawful protest, however we will not tolerate any attempts at division in our communities.

Our Neighbourhood Policing Teams have increased their regular engagement with local people, community leaders and businesses to ensure they feel supported.

In addition, we’ve developed a series of dynamic policing plans which means we can respond rapidly and proportionality to any possible incident of disorder in Swindon or Wiltshire.

We’ve also supplied mutual aid to regional forces to support with their policing response.

In terms of the quality of our wider service, yesterday saw the publication of our latest, independent performance assessment.

The Police Efficiency, Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) report from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) sets out improvements we’ve made and the areas requiring further development.

This follows the Force being taken out of ‘Engage’ in May 2024, due to the progress made against concerns raised by HMICFRS in their previous inspection in 2022.

In 2022, eight areas were graded - five of which were graded as Requires Improvement and three graded Inadequate. In the latest report, nine areas were graded – two of which were graded as Good, three were Adequate and four were Requires Improvement.

No areas were found to be Inadequate by HMICFRS in their latest inspection.

When I joined the organisation in 2023, I committed to ensuring significant and sustainable reform across all areas of the organisation to provide a stable foundation for all necessary improvements.

Examples of the improvements noted within the 2024 HMICFRS’ report include:

• Wiltshire Police were found to listen and respond to what matters to its communities
• A range of activity demonstrating that Wiltshire Police is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB)
• Good management of offenders and suspects to ensure arrests are made swiftly and victims are safeguarded at the earliest opportunity.
• HMICFRS found Wiltshire Police to be effective at dealing with online child abuse – working closely with partners to reduce the risk of harm to children.
• Significant improvement in the use of risk assessments by Crime and Communications Centre staff, ensuring that vulnerability and repeat victims are identified at the earliest opportunity.
• Significant improvements in the way the Force uses stop and search powers fairly and respectfully
• Improvements in how the Force deals with domestic abuse, including the roll out of Domestic Abuse Matters training to 1,650 officers and staff, increased arrest rates and the introduction of Listening Circles.

Areas for further focus highlighted in the report include:

• Making further improvements to crime recording, including the time taken to record crime
• Ensuring that the Force consistently achieves appropriate outcomes for victims
• Ensuring that emergency calls are answered quickly and that the number of abandoned non-emergency calls is reduced
• Ensuring effective supervisory oversight of investigations and that all investigative opportunities are taken
• Addressing inconsistencies in the staffing of specialist departments
• Using insights from data to improve the service provided to vulnerable people
• Improving how data is gathered on stop and search and use of force.

The areas highlighted by HMICFRS are not a surprise. We have already identified many of those and remedial plans are in place to fix and drive further improvements in these areas.

Whilst it is pleasing to see that the improvements we’ve made are being recognised by an independent assessment, I know we both approach this report with a level of cautious optimism.

Across Wiltshire Police, we recognise that we still have much more to do to ensure that the service we provide is consistent with the level of service our communities expect and deserve.

I remain steadfast in my belief that by maintaining a relentless focus on continuous improvement, working closely with our communities and partners, we can provide the best possible policing service and ensure that our communities feel truly safe.

Kindest regards to you,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police