Representing our communities

First and Best

Our mantra, Primus et Optimus, translates to First and Best.

We’re the oldest county force in the country, established in 1839, known then as Wiltshire Constabulary, and our standards have always been high.

Wiltshire has a diverse history, population and landscape, and our goal is to make sure our staff and officers represent the communities we serve. We want our workforce to reflect all our communities across Wiltshire, so they feel we are a part of them, just as they are of us.

We aim to attract, and retain, the best people with the greatest experience, skills and potential, whether they have considered a career in policing before, or not.

There are opportunities for development and progression, wherever your passion in policing lies.

We're here to support applications from people from all walks of life.

Becoming a more diverse workforce

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy has helped us improve workforce diversity, however we are still not fully representative of minority groups.

We encourage applications from diverse communities and support employees from underrepresented groups, helping them build their career with us. 

We listen to our staff and officers and encourage open communication. We have regular forums with the Chief Constable and actively promote opportunities to feedback on our goals, ideas and progress.

We respect that our people have their own voice and give opportunities for them to use it.

Taking Positive Action

A police force which reflects its communities is vital to encourage public confidence. It also helps us to understand our multi-cultural communities better, increase productivity and provide adaptability when problem solving.

We carry out Positive Action in Wiltshire - this is a range of measures and development initiatives employers can lawfully take to help people from underrepresented groups compete for jobs on equal terms with other applicants. For more information, please read our latest Positive Action Plan 

Positive Action officers promote vacancies and seek to increase workforce numbers from protected groups, breakdown community barriers and support people from all underrepresented groups through the recruitment process.

To find out more, visit our Positive Action page and get in touch with us at [email protected]

Shrinking the gender pay gap

We were proud to announce in March 2021 that we were the only police force in the country to employ more women than men taking officer and staff numbers combined, as well as a 10% increase in the number of female officers in the last 12 months.

Our latest Gender Pay Gap Report shows that men and women are paid equally at every grade, however there are still more males at senior positions, meaning higher paid roles. We are pleased with these results and committed to shrinking the pay gap even further by attracting more females to join us and progress to senior positions.

Disability Confident Leaders

We were the first police force in the country to achieve the highest level Disability Confident Leader status in the Government's flagship scheme in 2018. 

In March 2021 we successfully renewed our status, and are firmly committed to ensuring that disabled people have the opportunities to achieve their potential and realise their aspirations.