Wiltshire Police Constabulary

The Wiltshire Constabulary, known as the Wiltshire police, is responsible for the policing of Wiltshire and Swindon, a county in South-West England. It was formed in 1839 and has a total workforce of 2,236 employees and 149 volunteers. These employees are charged with the safety and crime prevention amongst 625,000 residents.

Its motto is the first and the best and has its own mission statement: Safe, satisfied and confident communities. To help with this, The Wiltshire constabulary has an annual budget of £96 million. It's motto, coincidently, is in fact true and the force was the very first to be formed as part of the county police act 1839.

The police force is overseen by the Wiltshire police authority which is made up of nine members appointed by the Wiltshire and Swindon councils; as well as eight independent members. The headquarters of the force is in Devizes as this is the place nearest to the very centre of the area covered by the force.

History of the Wiltshire Constabulary

As the first ever police force in the United Kingdom, the Wiltshire constabulary has more years of history than any other. This explains its motto, primus et optimus, Latin for the first and the best.

The Wiltshire force was involved in the battle of the beanfield which occurred at Stonehenge in 1985. The police were granted permission to prevent a convoy of new age travellers from setting up their festival at Stonehenge, the legendary landmark, and also secured the right to enforce a four mile exclusion zone. There were accusations following this event of a police riot.

Brian More was appointed as the chief constable in 2008, after Martin Richards, the previous chief who was transferred to the Sussex police force as chief constable. David Ainsworth is the current deputy chief constable.

The modern day Wiltshire force

The Wiltshire force faces the challenge of policing a very diverse and varied area. There are the urban areas and then there are the more rural areas, including Stonehenge, covering 1,346 square miles. The police force is made up of 90 neighbourhood policing teams.

The police force in Wiltshire is focused on putting local communities at the centre of their operations. Neighbourhood policing teams in the area work closely with local authorities and local people to identify and address the issues that need to be resolved.

To this effect, the Wiltshire force is behind the neighbourhood watch initiative which can boast being the biggest and possibly most successful crime prevention initiative in existence. The scheme is familiar to residents of a number of constabularies and has the advantage of being able to give local residents the chance to help prevent crime either by early reporting or by diminishing the opportunity for a crime to take place. The scheme also helps reassure and comfort those who are affected by crime and to inspire a greater sense of community.

As part of its commitment to the many local communities that make up Wiltshire and to the people living within such communities, the Wiltshire force has made its pledge and has set out in writing how it aims to improve law abidance and safety. It aims to answer 89% of all 999 calls within ten seconds and arrive on scene within a set time. In 2008 the Wiltshire force dealt with 95,000 emergency calls and 396,000 non emergency calls.

To increase trust in the police, they are aiming to ensure that the public really believe that they are addressing the issues that really matter to them. The official statistics provided by the crime map support this as the number of crimes in Wiltshire fell by an incredibly respectable 20.1% from 2008 to 2009.

The most noticeable policy of the Wiltshire police force is their listening approach. They aim to answer all emergency calls within ten seconds and have also pledged to respond to all other reports within 60 minutes or to arrange an appointment within 24 hours of the report being made. The force will always give advice or put members of the public in touch with the right experts if necessary.

The Wiltshire police force runs a number of campaigns designed to keep the public safe and to help to control or even prevent crime. The force offers practical information and advice on how to stay safe and on the right side of the law when going out.

The ‘keep safe when shopping campaign’ is one example of this and offers valuable advice to residents on how to remain safe whilst shopping. Advice such as not keeping your wallet in your back pocket or leaving valuables at home are part of this campaign. There are also many seasonal crime prevention tips which help keep residents constantly aware of the dangers currently facing them, as well as reassuring the public that the police are actively involved in keeping them safer.

In line with the force's pledge to keep residents safe, there is a traffic watch section on their website which informs of delays and incidents, thus helping motorists to avoid unnecessary problems whilst travelling and to remain more knowledgeable of the up-to-date situations.

Keeping up-to-date with all modern police requirements, the Wiltshire police force has its very own diversity and community affairs team. Although only a small team, they are responsible for ensuring that the force is consistent and fair, as well as promoting initiatives with the scope of improving public safety and confidence. Since 25% of the Wiltshire population is from a diverse ethnic background, this type of organisation is a necessary part of modern policing.

In all simplicity, the modern Wiltshire police force can be summed up with the following word – Listen. It aims to listen to its residents and to create a strong sense of community. Unlike other police forces, the Wiltshire force is organised into many very small police teams which work on a local scale to get to the bottom of issues that matter the most. This is a modern and diverse approach form the first of the UK's police forces.

To return to the list of police forces please click here: Police History