Wiltshire PEEL 2016

Wiltshire Police is good at preventing crime, tackling anti-social behaviour and keeping people safe. It understands the communities it serves and the threats they face and analyses the threat, risk and harm to the communities.

The force has addressed, or is in the process of addressing, areas for improvement identified in HMIC’s 2015 effectiveness inspection.

Problem solving is effective across the force. Staff work well with partner organisations such as local authorities and health services, sharing information and resolving problems together. The force’s crime prevention strategy places focus on troubled families, mental health, integrated offender management and youth offending. It provides practical advice on information sharing and working with other organisations to tackle and reduce incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Although the force is in the process of introducing a new operating model with community policing teams, current activities across both the new and old systems are working effectively. Frontline officers and PCSOs are engage with the public in their local neighbourhoods in several ways to understand better the issues and threats faced by those communities. This is supported by the involvement of academics and other forces ensuring that any new methods are based on what works.

Wiltshire Police is good at investigating crime and reducing re-offending. The force has a good process for the assessment of all reported incidents, from first point of contact (where there is a structured approach) through assessing vulnerability to ensuring an appropriate response. This ensures that police resources are deployed appropriately, providing a prompt and professional service to the victim.

Specialist resources are available where needed, initial scene attendance follows the ‘golden hour’ principles, and effective evidence-gathering opportunities are followed. Victims of domestic abuse assessed as high risk receive full support from specialist detectives even if the levels of violence to which they have been subjected are relatively minor.

HMIC found investigative caseloads were handled by officers with the appropriate levels of training and competence and with manageable workloads. Supervision levels and inputs were effective, as were measures to monitor sexual and violent offenders. Programmes are in place to prevent re-offending and to provide effective victim care and support, as well as to address the areas for improvement identified in HMIC’s 2015 effectiveness inspection.

Wiltshire Police is good at protecting those who are vulnerable from harm, and supporting victims.

The force has a good understanding of the nature and scale of vulnerability. It works well with partner organisations in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and has developed in-depth profiles of high risk areas. The force has implemented structured processes, which officers and staff accept and understand, for assessing the vulnerability of callers, beginning at the first point of contact and subsequently through responding officers.

Encouragingly, the force has addressed the cause of concern identified in HMIC’s 2015 effectiveness report by improving its response to missing and absent children. The awareness of the risks associated with persistently missing children and the recording of the assessment of risk and supervision of these investigations has improved.

The force has configured its investigative resources to prioritise high-risk investigations, and longer-term support for high-risk victims of domestic abuse is provided through effective joint agency arrangements.

The force continues to prioritise the protection of vulnerable people. Investment in the new child sexual exploitation teams and multi-agency safeguarding hubs along with better training for specialist investigators is testament to this.

Wiltshire Police has a good understanding of the threat posed by serious and organised crime, and has dedicated resources to improving its understanding further. The force has a clear and effective way of agreeing priorities, plans and decisions for its intelligence processes.

The force is particularly active in the way it pursues and disrupts criminal networks facilitating drug dealing in Wiltshire. It understands the threat these groups pose and is systematic in its approach to managing them. Activity against organised crime groups is effectively managed, and recent changes to where the lead responsible officer function is placed help to promote longer-term approaches to dismantling the groups. On the whole, organised crime group mapping is carried out correctly.

The force prioritises and scrutinises activity aimed at tackling serious and organised objectively. It works with other law enforcement agencies and relevant organisations in its operational activity, with scope to enhance partnership engagement at a strategic level.

The force clearly understands how people are drawn into serious and organised crime. Its approach to lifetime management of offenders is under review as is its development of a broader approach to serious and organised crime. The force has made progress in response to HMIC’s 2015 effectiveness report.

Wiltshire Police has the necessary arrangements in place to assess all the threats identified in the Strategic Policing Requirement. Chief officers play an active part, both by robust internal governance and in collaboration with other forces and organisations in the South West, in ensuring that these threats are managed.

Wiltshire Police is good at assessing the threat of an attack requiring an armed police response. The force forms part of a tri-force armed policing collaboration with Gloucestershire Constabulary and Avon and Somerset Constabulary.