Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,

Earlier this week, I outlined plans to make efficiencies within our estate footprint as part of the required multi-million-pound savings the Force must make.

We previously updated the public that the additional £5.2m we must save in 2025/26 would be sought primarily through estate and vehicle rationalisation before considering a reduction in the number of police staff.

By the end of April 2025, the following estate changes will have been completed:

The three facilities we will be closing do not offer any public front counter service.

These proposals come with a commitment from me that our communities will receive an enhanced offer from Wiltshire Police across the county by way of improved visibility and public access to our services.

This will include:

Our communities can read the full update from me here and can see our new Local Policing Map for Wiltshire here.

Over the last week, there have been many examples of where our organisation is actively engaging with our communities.

To mark International Women’s Day last Friday, I attended a celebration in Lacock which brought together leaders, professionals and community members to discuss how we can work collaboratively to promote gender equality and empowerment. 

This impactive event, which was part of this year’s theme of Accelerate Action, was hosted by Wansbroughs legal practice and the Wiltshire Community Foundation and underscored our commitment to taking further action in addressing the impact Violence Against Women and Girls has on victims, on family and friends and on communities. 

On Sunday, we had the delight of welcoming over 100 Girl Guides, Brownies and their leaders to our headquarters for the second Girlguiding Wiltshire Police Challenge Badge day.

This event is designed to build critical thinking, leadership, and an appreciation for public service.

The Guides took part in a series of challenges from designing their own police force, gathering evidence to solve a crime and undertaking a public order training exercise.

As a Guide leader and the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Children and Young People, I know that public service is a thread that connects Girlguiding and Policing.

The success of the inaugural event in 2024 made it clear how important it is to continue this initiative. Organisations like Girlguiding play a vital role in the lives of young people, offering positive role models, safe spaces, and opportunities to develop valuable skills.

You can find out more about our Girlguiding Wiltshire Police Challenge Badge here.

Another recent example of how we are engaging with children and young people is the Synergy project – funded by your office.

Last week marked the end of the third Synergy course which sees young people identified as at risk of being involved in serious violence or victims of criminal exploitation. They are supported to learn about and shape how frontline organisations safeguard our communities.

One of our PCSOs, who led the course, summed up the impact it had by saying that ‘we had seven individual young people on the first day and, by the end of course, we had a team of seven.’

Synergy is a project run by our Youth and Early Intervention team in partnership with the Youth Justice Services in Wiltshire and Swindon, the British Army, Street Doctors and Dorset Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Our communities can find out more about Synergy here. This work is a clear example of the wider services commissioned by your office to prevent youth crime as outlined in your Police and Crime Plan.

As both you and I have frequently reflected – many of our essential policing services are delivered by our police staff. Last week was the national Police Staff Week of Celebration and Recognition where we marked the pivotal contribution our police staff colleagues make to policing across the country.

During the week, which is coordinated by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, we shone a light on all the incredible work our police staff do to keep our communities safe.

I had the honour, alongside my Chief of Corporate Services, to present awards to over 20 of our police staff colleagues for their invaluable contributions.

Last Friday, we shared the results from the latest phase of Operation Scorpion – the South West initiative aimed at reducing the serious harm and violence caused by the supply of illegal drugs in the region.

In Wiltshire, across the seven days of action, which ran from February 17-23, there were:

This iteration of Operation Scorpion also coincided with a national operation tackling the trade around the cannabis market by focusing on safeguarding vulnerable people, tackling modern slavery, human trafficking, anti-social behaviour and related violence.

As part of the coordinated national effort, more than 200 people were arrested and drugs worth more than £45m were seized.

You can read more about this activity here.

Finally, I wanted to end this letter by expressing my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sebastian Sailes.

Our specially trained Family Liaison Officers will continue to support Sebastian’s family.

I know I speak on behalf of both of our organisations, all of those involved in the search operation and our communities when I extend our condolences and thoughts to all those impacted by this tragic incident.

Kindest regards to you,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police