More about this area

The force says...

Wiltshire Police operates across an area of 3,485 sq/km. The county has two unitary authority areas, Wiltshire and Swindon, consisting of 6 community policing teams.

Wiltshire has a population of approximately 684,000 people, with a wide range of socio-economic characteristics. Wiltshire is a largely rural county with the main towns of Swindon, Salisbury, Chippenham and Trowbridge. The county has a large military personnel presence of over 30,000, and is also home to Stonehenge and the busy M4 corridor.

The force has 2,003 staff, made up of 961 police officers and 1042 PCSOs and police staff. The force is capably supported by special constables and volunteers. Within the last year, the force has received approximately 546,351 calls for service and recorded approximately 44,116 crimes. Crime volumes in Wiltshire are in line with other forces.

Wiltshire has a budget of just over £105 million, which has seen a real terms reduction of 34.4% over seven years.   Wiltshire is one of the cheapest forces, with officer cost per head of population consistently amongst the lowest in the country, providing good value for money.

The force has embarked on a number of collaborative projects, including specialist operations with regional forces and creating strong relationships with local authorities.  Partnership working, co-location and campuses are the essence of public sector services both in Wiltshire and Swindon.

The priorities for the force are:

• Prevent crime and keep people safe
• Protect the most vulnerable people in society
• Put victims, witnesses and communities at the heart of everything we do
• Secure a quality police service that is trusted and efficient

Wiltshire Police has gone through significant transformation.  Using innovative approaches such as agile working and reviewing leadership structures, the force aims to balance the challenge of meeting our policing requirement to provide the best possible service to the public, against a background of reducing budgets.

Disclaimer: the above statement has been prepared by Wiltshire Police. The views and information in it are not necessarily those of HMICFRS.