Chief Constable fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 8 May 2026

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,

I wanted to start this fortnight’s update by sharing the latest information regarding the increased UK terrorism threat level and what we are doing to support our communities.

The thoughts of everyone at Wiltshire Police remain with all those affected by the series of recent attacks on Jewish communities across the country and the horrific terror attack declared in north London last Wednesday. 

As a result of this, last week, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) raised the UK terrorism threat level to SEVERE meaning an attack is highly likely.  

Many of our communities will be wanting to know what they are being asked to do following the change in threat level. I understand this announcement may cause concern, but I ask that our communities be alert and not alarmed. 

Wiltshire Police officers, staff and volunteers, as across the whole of the UK, together with our security service partners, will continue to work both day and night to protect everyone against the threat of terrorism.

We routinely work with community and faith groups, and this will continue as we seek their support and assistance. 

Communities have shown time and time again that they are united in their rejection of those who wish to divide us and spread hate in the name of extremism.

Here in Wiltshire, Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith has been leading our local response to the increased threat level.

As a result, we have:

I ask our communities that if they see anything that doesn’t feel right, report via gov.uk/ACT. In an emergency, always call 999. 

For non-urgent matters, you can reach out to us through our website or to your local neighbourhood teams here. It is also possible to raise concerns or report incidents anonymously through Crimestoppers here or by calling 0800 555 111 - all information will be shared with us.  

I would like to further reassure our communities that there are well rehearsed plans for a range of major incidents to help us review and improve our emergency response.

Just this week, our entire Senior Leadership Team participated in such an exercise which tested both our local emergency plans and how we work collaboratively with local, regional and national partners to keep our communities safe. 

We know that, in times of uncertainty, our communities want to see and hear from us more. 

Across April, our ten Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs) undertook 750 individual engagements with our communities across Swindon and the rest of the county – an increase of more than 250 engagements from March. 

These included drop-in sessions, school visits, attending local meetings, places of worship and community events.

You can find out who your local NPT are, where they will be and what their local priorities are by visiting the Your Area section of our website. 

Forging ever stronger relationships with our communities is also based on knowing what crimes are having the biggest impact on them.

For many of our communities, this is the scourge of rural criminality.

I hope our communities were reassured to see that, following excellent collaborative police work including other police forces, we recently charged seven people with hare coursing.

In the early hours of Saturday 25 April, officers responded to an incident involving three vehicles reportedly hare coursing across rural land near Ludgershall.

One of the vehicles was subsequently stopped following a pursuit on the A303 in Hampshire, while another was later found abandoned.

Seven people were arrested after the vehicles were found to contain dead hares and equipment associated with poaching.

All seven men were charged with being equipped for searching for/or pursuing hares with dogs and will appear before Salisbury Magistrates’ Court in August.

As part of their bail conditions, none of the seven suspects are permitted to return to Wiltshire.

We recognise the significant impact crimes like hare coursing have on our rural and farming communities and we are committed to taking robust action against those responsible.

We rely on reports from the public to help us target our operational activity. If you see hare coursing taking place, call 999 to report a crime in progress. You can report all rural crimes via our website here.

Finally, I wanted to reiterate that we are always here when our communities need us and every single officer, police staff member and volunteer are steadfast in our commitment of Keeping Wiltshire Safe.

Kindest regards to you,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police