Wiltshire Police

Yesterday, over 100 Girl Guides, Brownies and their leaders took part in the second Wiltshire Police Challenge event to build critical thinking, leadership, and an appreciation for public service. The event promised an immersive day, allowing participants to explore the vital role of the police in keeping communities safe. It also gave Wiltshire Police the opportunity to listen to the Girl Guides to understand their concerns and priorities for living in Wiltshire. The event featured three activities tailored to challenge and inspire: · Design your own police force · Solve a crime · Uniformed Operations challenge Once all guiding members completed the three event activities, they were awarded their badges at a ceremony lead by Chief Constable Catherine Roper. The badge was officially launched across the county on International Women’s Day in 2024. The badge pack is available on the Wiltshire Police website where all Girlguiding units will be able to download it to use at weekly meetings and gain the badge. Read more here: https://orlo.uk/n5YGY

To mark International Women's Day (IWD), Chief Constable Catherine Roper attended the IWD #AccelerateAction event at The Gathering Space in Lacock. Supported by legal firm, Wansbroughs and the Wiltshire Community Foundation, the event brought together leaders and community members to discuss and promote gender equality. We speak to the Chief emphasising Wiltshire Police's commitment to inclusivity and empowering women within the force and the wider community. 👇 #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2025 #KeepingWiltshireSafe

This week, police forces across the UK are celebrating the invaluable contributions of police staff as part of the NPCC initiative. From behind-the-scenes support to specialist roles, police staff are essential to the smooth operation of our forces. This week highlights the incredible talent, dedication, and teamwork that make our communities safer every day. #CelebratingPoliceStaff

We’re again celebrating some of the unsung heroes of policing! This year’s event follows the very successful inaugural week of celebration held in 2024, and will again coincide with the National Senior Police Staff Network (SPSN) summit held at the College of Policing, which this year also plays host to the first ever National Police Staff Awards. Learn more about this incredibly important week of awareness, and hear from ACO Gemma Stannard (nee Plummer) of NPCC, and ACO Alexis Poole of Devon and Cornwall Police, co-founders of the SPSN. #CelebratingPoliceStaff 

This week marks Police Staff Week and we’re #CelebratingPoliceStaff as we come together to recognise the vital contribution they make to policing, and thank them for all they do. 🎉 Later this week we will host the first ever National Police Staff Awards alongside the National Police Chiefs' Council, celebrating the dedication to public service that police staff demonstrate every day. It’s a chance for us to acknowledge their unwavering commitment to keeping our communities safe and to celebrate the often unsung heroes who work tirelessly behind the scenes. 👏

Hundreds of school staff from across Swindon and Wiltshire joined together this week for an event about planning for a major incident in a school. The Emergency Preparedness training event held on Tuesday, February 25, at the Corn Exchange, Devizes, jointly planned and facilitated by Wiltshire Council’s Education Safeguarding Effectiveness team, was held to raise awareness of the actions emergency services will take in response to a major incident within an educational setting. Although lockdown events are very uncommon and schools are fundamentally safe places, we have a collective responsibility to make sure we are as prepared as possible to keep our children and young people are safe. Read more in the comments below 👇

We welcomed 12 new Police Constables into our ranks on Friday 21 February in a ceremony held at Devizes Rugby Club. These students are the first to complete the new Police Constable Entry Programme, which is the first in a number of years that has contained a Drill element, teaching the students the basics of marching and parading alongside their other learning. PCEP1 have completed their initial 23 weeks of training and were presented their warrant cards and awards by Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper on Friday. Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson was also in attendance to welcome the new officers into Force where they will join their new teams for the next phase of their careers. The Pass Out Ceremony is not only a celebration of their individual achievements but also a celebration of the combined effort of all of the teams who have supported them and got them to where they are now. As the student officers join their new teams across the county, we welcome them into the Force and wish them the best of luck in their careers with us.

Young people are being urged to Spot the signs, Stop the crime as the second phase of child exploitation campaign launches – with a continued focus on educating young people on the indicators that someone they know may be being exploited. In November, with Wiltshire Police we ran a joint campaign targeting child criminal exploitation, known as CCE, in our communities – where adults or older children groom young people, providing them with cash and/or gifts and a sense of being part of a group. The young person is then manipulated and pressured into doing things like stealing or carrying drugs or weapons in return. Targeted messaging on TikTok and Snapchat, as well as a week of educational visits to schools, reached more than 100,000 young people and parents or guardians, providing them with advice and guidance on how to spot the signs that exploitation may be taking over a person’s life. Starting today (17/02), the second phase of the campaign will run for two weeks, featuring further targeted messaging on social media platforms, alongside Spotify adverts, and billboards around Swindon. Find out more by clicking the link in the comments 👇 #EndExploitation #SpotTheSignsStopTheCrime #MakingWiltshireSafer

Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin visited Wiltshire Police last week to understand how the Force is supporting young people and preventing them from entering the criminal justice system. Wiltshire Police is one of the first Forces to be visited by the Minister as Chief Constable Catherine Roper is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Children and Young People. Highlights of work the Force is doing in this area include: • Increases in Out of Court Resolutions for young people – these have gone from five issued in 2018 to 851 issued in 2024 • The results of youth engagement efforts in Swindon show an 18.1% reduction in knife crime in the town, alongside a 25% decrease in serious violence and significant reductions in robbery • The average time high-risk children are missing has improved significantly – on average, missing children are now located in under 12 hours compared to 24 hours in 2023/24 • Launching initiatives to engender the trust and confidence of children and young people – from football and climbing sessions to the launch of the Police Challenge Badge for Girl Guides and Scouts within Wiltshire Police. Chief Constable Roper said: “I am deeply passionate about our drive to improve how policing serves children and young people so I was delighted to meet with the Minister to illustrate the work we are doing to support this. “As the NPCC lead for Children and Young People, I am able to use such opportunities to share best practice and drive improvements across all police forces. “All children should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential without their lives being blighted by crime whether as victims, offenders or living in communities impacted by the fear of crime. “We were able to demonstrate to the Minister that our focus on collaboration with partners, fostering positive relationships with young people in our community and prioritising restorative interventions and outcomes is making real, positive change. “We will continue to improve these relationships and develop our multi-agency approach to make a lasting contribution to our children and young people in Wiltshire.”

A reminder that Chief Constable Catherine Roper will be on the Wiltshire Police Facebook page to answer your questions on Monday 20 January 2025 at 6.30pm. The Chief will be taking this opportunity to answer your questions about the recent announcements in relation to the financial challenges faced by Wiltshire Police and the savings plan for the Force. You can find details here: https://orlo.uk/uFEec If you are unable to make the event, you can ask your questions in advance within the comments below. #KeepingWiltshireSafe #AskTheChief