PCC meets residents to talk about their role in fighting crime

Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, met with residents in one part of Swindon to hear their concerns following a weekend of violence in the area.

A driver suffered severe facial injuries after he was attacked by two cyclists on Saturday morning (Sep 30), while another man was taken to hospital after being stabbed on Sunday morning (Oct 1) in two unrelated incidents in Pinehurst.

Following the attacks, Mr Wilkinson visited Kell's Kitchen at the Pinetrees Community Centre where he spoke to locals about recent events in the area and talked about the importance of community intelligence in order to tackle crime effectively.

Mr Wilkinson said: "It is vitally important for me to talk to people about how the work I do, alongside with Wiltshire Police, is to make their lives better and their communities safer.

"To do that, we need to work together and we need their information to help remove the people who are causing harm and damage in their communities.

"That being said, I also understand there are situations where reporting a crime can cause difficulties and that’s where the charity Crimestoppers comes in.

"It enables people to report crimes anonymously, and that information is then passed on to police. It provides a really important source of intelligence for officers, particularly around crimes like the organised drug dealing which blights so many communities.

I want to make it clear to criminals that Wiltshire, and the south west, is no place for drugs and community intelligence will help us to break down these gangs."

During the lunchtime visit, the PCC was accompanied by Acting DCI Jane Postgate from Wiltshire Police's Intelligence Unit, Sgt Nadia Moulton and PCSO Paul Outlaw, from the area’s Neighbourhood Policing Team.

They spoke to residents about a number of issues in the area which ranged from problems regarding e-scooters, anti-social behaviour and drug related crimes.

DI Postgate said: "If we want to get ahead of the criminals operating in Wiltshire, we need people to tell us if they think something is wrong.

"What may seem like the smallest piece of information will feed into the bigger picture and can give us the edge over criminal gangs and enable us to make arrests

“If you're concerned about suspicious activity where you live, there are a number of ways you can report it.”

You can report online by visiting the Wiltshire Police website, you can ring CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, or you can call 101.

Published Friday 6 October 2023