Chief Constable fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 25 September 2026 - Wiltshire and Swindon Community Messaging

Chief Constable fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 25 September 2026

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson,

Trust in policing depends on every person knowing they will be treated fairly, listened to and able to access our services when they need us.

On this basis, I wanted to use my update this fortnight to appraise you and our communities on the relaunch of our Culture, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for 2025–2030.

This strategy sets out the police service we aspire to be and the improved professional delivery the public rightly expect from us.

Fairness, dignity and respect must shape how we support our people, how we make decisions and how we serve every community across Wiltshire and Swindon.

We originally launched the strategy earlier this year, but our communities, stakeholders and colleagues were clear that they wanted a stronger voice in shaping this work and to see tangible outcomes from it.

We have listened carefully to this feedback and substantially revised the strategy. The new version is clearer, measurable and places greater emphasis on how its delivery will improve the service our communities receive.

It focuses on four areas: our communities, our workforce, our partners, and how we improve our policies and processes.

It outlines how we will improve access to policing, strengthen community engagement and independent scrutiny, support workforce wellbeing, and ensures our decisions are fair, transparent and led by evidence.

By 2030, we want to be a police service that represents and supports our communities, is inclusive and where our people know they belong.

For our communities, this means more accessible services, stronger relationships with our neighbourhood teams, an improved experience for victims, and fair, professional policing that earns trust and confidence.

For our workforce, it means a supportive environment where our officers, staff and volunteers can excel, know they are valued and feel able to challenge behaviour that falls short of our standards.

Examples of Wiltshire Police’s Year 1 commitments, covering October 2026 to October 2027, include:

Introduce new third-party reporting sites – this will extend access to our services and support to those who might be isolated, geographically excluded or have low trust in policing

Establish our use of Enhanced Video Response (EVR) – by offering a virtual policing option through which officers handle non-urgent crime reports via secure live video calls instead of attending in person, we will increase the choice available to people when accessing our support

Strengthen support for our people and their families – we will implement a series of improvements to the welfare provision offered to our colleagues and their loved ones

Publish professional standards trends and outcomes – we will transparently share how we are addressing issues where our service falls short

Engage at more than 100 community outreach events – our Neighbourhood Policing Teams will enhance their visibility at community events and bolster local access to our services

Deliver workforce equality, diversity and cultural competency training – we will equip our colleagues with insight and the capabilities to ensure our communities receive the fairest service possible

Expand our responsibilities under the Police Covenant – this will enable us to support the health and wellbeing of our workforce and their families.

This work matters because policing by consent depends on the public having confidence that we use our powers fairly, listen to different experiences and act where outcomes are unequal.

Progress will be monitored through the Wiltshire Police Confidence and Legitimacy Board, our Strategic and Local Independent Advisory Groups, wider community feedback and workforce insight.

It will also be subject to scrutiny from your office, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), national benchmarking and our delivery against the National Policing Culture and Inclusion Strategy 2025–2030.

Commissioner, you hold me to account for the policing service we provide across Wiltshire and Swindon.

I want our communities to judge this strategy not just by its words, but by the difference it makes to their experience of policing.

Every quarter, we will show what has been delivered, what difference it has made and where we still need to improve. We will continue to listen, learn and act as we work to earn greater trust and confidence across every community we serve.

Our communities can find our Culture, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here.

Victim confidence, fairness and access to justice is also central to the Government announcement this week that cases of rape and sexual offences will take priority within our criminal justice system with new specialist courts rolled out across England and Wales.

These plans aim to tackle delays for victims and survivors while also providing them with private waiting rooms, separate entrances and facilities equipped to pre-record evidence and observe sentencing remotely.

It will see every Crown Court having at least one courtroom dedicated to hearing rape and serious sexual offence cases which will help to hold more perpetrators to account.

As you highlighted in your statement this week welcoming these measures, improving outcomes for victims requires a collective commitment across policing, criminal justice and victim support agencies. These reforms are an important step towards delivering a system that better meets the needs of victims and survivors.

I wholeheartedly support any initiative which both supports victims of crime, expedites their journey to receiving the justice they deserve and enhances their experience of the court process.

These plans will also help to underpin one of my three operational priorities, improving outcomes for victims, while supporting delivery of the Police and Crime Plan priority to improve the experience and outcomes of victims and witnesses.

Alongside the victim support services commissioned through the OPCC and the work being undertaken by Wiltshire Police and our criminal justice partners, these reforms will help ensure victims of rape and serious sexual offences receive the support, protection and access to justice they deserve.

By reducing delays and placing victims at the centre of the court process, these measures have the potential to improve confidence in the criminal justice system and encourage more victims and survivors to come forward, report offences and remain engaged in pursuing justice.

More information on this update can be found here.

Improving outcomes for victims will be the focus of our next Facebook Live event which will be held on November 2 between 6.30pm and 7.30pm.

In this session, we will outline the work being undertaken by both the Force and your office to best support victims of crime.

Our communities can submit questions in advance of this session by clicking on this link - Facebook Live 02/11/2026.

Kindest regards

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police

image of Chief Constable Roper

Reply to this message

Message Sent By
Corporate Communications
(Wiltshire Police, Communications & Engagement Officer, Force wide)