PCC chairs weekly coronavirus briefing with local MPs and leaders of local councils

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon yesterday (15/04) chaired the weekly stakeholder briefing to local MPs and leaders of the two local authorities.

Angus Macpherson was joined by Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills who updated the group that the Force maintains its stance that officers will continue to engage with our communities and only use enforcement action when absolutely needed.

He also updated that the Force would be focusing efforts on domestic abuse.

Angus said: "Although I am informed that Wiltshire Police is starting to see a decrease generally in crime volumes, there are certain crime types that will inevitably rise - these include domestic and child abuse incidents.

"We are now in the third week of the Government's restrictions and tensions in some households might result in abuse. Also, the widespread closure of schools means many vulnerable children might not be seen as regularly by professionals.

"We are working closely with our partners to identify and support these vulnerable members of society.

"It's really important we reinforce to members of the public and our stakeholders that during this time we, and other agencies, are still here for all victims to report abuse to."

Angus once again reassured the group, which also had an update from the Clinical Commissioning Group, that he would continue to regularly review the capacity and resilience of the Force to ensure policing would be as unaffected as possible.

Angus is supporting the national domestic abuse awareness campaign. For more information, log onto www.gov.uk/domestic-abuse or follow #youarenotalone on social media.