Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,

Today, the jury sitting in the inquest into the death of Graham Trinder has returned a verdict that he was lawfully killed.

Mr Trinder died after being shot by a Wiltshire Police firearms officer in Summers Street, Swindon on Sunday 8 November 2020.

First and foremost, our sincerest condolences remain with Mr Trinder’s family and friends. Whilst incidents of this nature are thankfully incredibly rare in Wiltshire, this does not diminish the impact they have on all involved and the wider communities in which they take place. 

Following this incident, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) carried out a thorough and independent investigation which we fully supported. This is something that the public rightly expect and deserve. 

Having reviewed all available evidence, including footage of the incident and statements from witnesses, the IOPC determined that the use of force was reasonable in the circumstances. However, they did identify learning for both individuals and the organisation which has been fully accepted.

During the Inquest, the Coroner made the direction to issue part of the Body Worn Video covering the incident to the media. We welcome the public transparency this allows. However, our thoughts and condolences remain with Mr Trinder's family and friends.

Our priority is always to ‘prevent all offences against people and property and keep the King’s peace’ as outlined in the oath all officers must take. No firearms officer ever wants to discharge their weapon. 

We fully appreciate the impact that the inquest process might have had on our local communities. It will, undoubtedly, bring back some difficult memories for those who were living in the area closest to the incident in 2020.  Our focus will always be to support the public and I would urge anyone with concerns to reach out to their Neighbourhood Policing Team.

On Monday, we were honoured to share the partnership work being carried out in the county to tackle violence against women and girls with Her Majesty The Queen.

Last year, a coalition called Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) was established in Wiltshire comprising of members of the public, members of the judiciary, police, representatives from domestic abuse organisations, and business leaders.

Collectively, we made a commitment to ensure that our approach now firmly centres on the voices and lived experiences of victims.

I am delighted that the group also agreed to be Wiltshire Police's VAWG Independent Advisory Group, acting as a critical friend to our organisation - providing insight and guidance to improve our service to victims and communities.

Wiltshire Police has made progress. However, this has only been possible through the support of the EVAWG and improved trust and confidence from victims, their families, community members, and partner agencies in our policing approach.

The Force's performance is improving in tackling VAWG, including:

And arrest rate increases for both stalking and Domestic Abuse:

It is quite right that the Force prioritises tackling this heinous criminality and it will continue to be a focus.

As you are aware, I am passionate about improving our support to children and young people across the county. This week afforded two further opportunities to do just this. 

On Tuesday, we participated in an Emergency Preparedness training event with hundreds of school staff from across Swindon and Wiltshire.

The event was held to raise awareness of the action emergency services will take in response to a serious incident within an educational setting, including any subsequent lockdown if required.

School representatives heard testimonies from officers and students involved in the stabbing at Tewkesbury Academy in July 2023 to outline the emergency response. 

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.

I am delighted that Wiltshire Police was part of this event.

On Thursday, Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith and I welcomed students from the STEPS Programme at Fairfield College in Dilton Marsh, to our headquarters for a Q+A session, tour of the building and to meet with the police dog unit.

You may recall that we previously worked with Chloe, a member of the STEPS Programme who it was lovely to see again on Thursday, to create our first ever easy-read document. This is designed to support vulnerable individuals in understanding how to stay safe both at home and in public spaces. You can read more about this guide here.

Finally, this week marks two years since I took office as Chief Constable for Wiltshire Police. 

Although we still have significant improvements to make, I am extremely proud that, over the last two years, we’ve demonstrated sufficient progress across all our policing service to remove us from the HMICFRS Engage process (or being in ‘special measures’) and reintroduced the dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Teams. Our collective focus remains on increasing our visibility, accessibility and engagement with our communities and we are committed to continuing this improvement journey.

Kindest regards,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable