Police and Crime Plan draft published for residents’ feedback

The first draft of Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson’s updated Police and Crime plan, which renews the focus on retail and rural crime, has been published. 

Key partners, stakeholders, and residents are now encouraged to give feedback on the draft plan, which sets out the blueprint for strategic policing and crime priorities for the next five years. 

The draft Plan was published after the Use Your Voice survey enabled residents of Wiltshire and Swindon to have their say on different aspects of policing, including which areas of policing are most important to them, their perception of crime rates over the past three years, and how they think Wiltshire Police could improve the service it provides.   

This feedback has now been analysed and directly fed into the first draft of the new Police and Crime Plan. 

Mr Wilkinson said: “After an extensive period of public consultation, I’m pleased to be able to publish the first draft of my new Police and Crime plan.

“The first step in developing the document was to clearly identify the criminal threats facing our communities. This process involves gathering feedback from residents and balancing this with professional assessments from the police and those working in the wider criminal justice system. 

“I have outlined four key priorities in the Police and Crime Plan for 2024-2029, each of which addresses critical aspects of community safety and justice in the region. 

“I’ve identified rural and retail crime as being two types of crime that matter most to communities, and I will continue to ensure that Wiltshire Police maintains its focus on arresting and prosecuting those engaged in rural and urban acquisitive crime. 

“We have initiated another regional collaboration, called Operation Ragwort, which is an intelligence led operation to tackle those organised crime gangs who threaten our farmers with violent consequences should they be interrupted mid crime and challenged.   

“I will also be working with town centres and retailers to coordinate efforts to increase security and support economic development in our town centres, as well as developing Business Crime Reduction Partnerships to tackle increases in shoplifting and crimes against retail workers.” 

The PCC will now take the draft to numerous events and stakeholder groups during October, including the Community Safety Partnerships and Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board, before analysing all feedback and presenting the final draft for ratification to Wiltshire and Swindon’s Police and Crime Panel in November. 

You can read the full draft of the Police and Crime Plan here.

Please submit any feedback using the online form: https://forms.office.com/e/pjFj16Sprz