Policing for the 21st century

The face of policing in Wiltshire has changed significantly since I first joined the Police Authority in 2005 and even more since I have been Police and Crime Commissioner.

From a time where everything was paper-based and cyber-crime was not a concern, to a time where most crimes will now have a digital element and all officers and staff are kitted out with laptops and iPhones to enable them to work in the communities they protect more easily.

We also continue to invest in technology to make the police as accessible as possible for the public, this includes the new website and online crime reporting will be available soon although none of these will replace calling 101 or police surgeries.

The police now work in a much more efficient way, sharing office space with local authorities and other partners and utilising police staff for roles that do not require a warrant.

Sharing offices with the local authorities enables better partnership working, particularly in regards to safeguarding and ultimately reduces the cost of our estate.

Some of the decisions taken to reduce our estate have proven controversial with the public, such as the closure of Salisbury custody, but ultimately it came down to decommissioning under-used facilities or losing additional officers.

Prior to closure, Salisbury custody was operating at 20% capacity, it simply was not viable when operational budgets were decreasing.

Police custody is an important part of investigations and keeping the public safe, but taking someone's liberty should only happen if absolutely necessary, there are other tools available like interviews by invitation and summons to court, which means that custody is not always appropriate.

Custody must not be used to house those who are suffering mental health crises or those who are drunk, it is not a medical facility, police are not medical staff and it is simply not appropriate.

In the south of the county, we now have a prisoner transport team who transport offenders to custody in Melksham, freeing up officers to remain in their patches.

There is no doubt that we have difficult decisions around the Force's priorities in recent years and it is difficult to manage public expectations when the police have limited funding.

Those with the most serious threat and harm risk must sit at the top of our list.