Wiltshire Police best in country for dealing with residents' priorities
Wiltshire Police is the best Force in the country for dealing with priorities as highlighted by the community, a national survey which measures the types of crime experienced by the public has revealed.
It has moved up the national rankings substantially after coming 29th last year.
The Force also came second in the country for confidence in the police, up from 20th in the same category from last year, and third for residents' satisfaction that police do a 'good or excellent job' compared to 12th in 2017.
The survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), measures crime by asking members of the public about their experiences of crime over the past 12 months, it records all types of crime experienced by people, including those that may not have been reported to the police. It also collects information from people not affected by crime.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson said: "It's really positive to see such a significant increase in how the Force deals with priorities as outlined by the community from last year and is clearly testament to the hard work going on within the Force to forge better links with those who live and work here.
"Recent events in Salisbury and Amesbury has demonstrated just how strong Wiltshire Police's relationships are within the communities they serve and protect.
"For the Force to come second nationally for public confidence in the police is great news and I'm glad that the public believe in our Force as much as I do.
"Clearly there are still areas that we need to improve, such as the respect category where Wiltshire placed 18th and I will be challenging the Chief Constable to ensure that this area for improvement is addressed, but huge improvements have been made in the past year and I hope that together we're able to maintain this momentum."
Chief Constable, Kier Pritchard said: "Since the introduction of Community Policing Teams (CPTs) in 2016 officers have tried to put a real emphasis on building strong and sustainable relationship in the communities where they live and work, and placing first in the country shows that the public feel those links to the police have improved.
"The Commissioner has invested a significant amount of money into technology for officers, staff and volunteers. Because of this they are now more visible and accessible as opposed to being hidden away behind a desk in a station and it's clear to see that this is having a positive impact on our communities.
"I'm really proud of the progress Wiltshire Police has made in the past year and whilst there are some areas where I would have liked the Force to place higher, this is a good opportunity for us to look at where we're excelling and replicate that across all the categories in the survey."