Wiltshire’s residents can now download a refreshed strategic policing blueprint for the county as the Police and Crime Commissioner unveils his latest police and crime plan.
Making Wiltshire Safer: Police and Crime Plan 2022-25 runs until April next year. PCC Philip Wilkinson is ensuring the next plan is readily available to the public to show how Wiltshire Police will continue to deliver policing across the county from 2025-29.
The new plan - which reflects detailed consultation and engagement with residents, operational advice from policing, local stakeholders and commissioned services - aims to tackle key safety challenges while ensuring an effective, efficient, frontline policing service which is highly visible, protects the vulnerable and encourages greater trust and engagement with communities.
The four strategic priorities of the Police and Crime Plan 2025-2029 include:
- A Police Service that meets community needs – emphasising responsive and visible policing with a focus on public trust.
- Reducing violence and serious harm – proactively tackling domestic abuse, sexual violence, and serious organised crime and violence.
- Tackle crimes that matter to local communities – including anti-social behaviour, rural crime, and road safety.
- Improve the experience of victims and deliver justice – ensuring victims feel supported throughout the justice process.
The plan sets out how Wiltshire Police and the OPCC’s commissioned services for victims will continue to contribute to Making Wiltshire Safer, such as investment, where necessary, to improve 999 and 101 response times, increased visibility in all communities, especially rural ones, and a comprehensive package to tackle serious violence and reducing knife crime, alongside enhancing satisfaction among victims of crime.
It also includes measures to engage young people and underrepresented groups, with initiatives like more effective community policing after new operating models were introduced and the continuation of youth mentoring programmes - all while balancing demand and communities' needs with an ever-challenging financial landscape.
PCC Philip Wilkinson said: "This plan is a blueprint for Making Wiltshire Safer and continues to build upon the successes of my first police and crime plan.
“Wiltshire Police has been making serious strides in progression since it was placed into Engage early in my tenure and the hard work paid off when it was finally lifted from this earlier this year.
“While there is always more work to be done to improve how effective and efficient Wiltshire Police can be, communities are telling me they are seeing improvements in frontline policing, in better visibility in communities and in better outcomes for victims, and revamped leadership and learning and development for all officers, staff and volunteers.
“But the Plan cannot succeed without the involvement of everyone—police, community groups, and residents alike. Together, we can build stronger, safer neighbourhoods where people feel confident, safe and protected.
“Wiltshire Police is dedicated to the principles of this plan, and the Chief Constable has committed to working with me, my office and our communities to address the concerns that matter most to them."
You can download a copy of the new Police and Crime Plan from this week on the PCC’s website: www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk (update bitly link!).
Next month, PCC Philip Wilkinson will be launching Use Your Voice: Police Precept survey and the police budget will be discussed in detail at Wiltshire and Swindon's Police and Crime Panel.
