Fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 4 July 2025

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,

It’s been an incredibly busy couple of weeks for Wiltshire Police. I would like to thank all my officers, staff and volunteers – and our partner agencies – for their support to our communities. 

I would like to open this letter by noting the tragic loss of a young man in Swindon this week. All our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends. This is being investigated by the Major Crime Investigation Team, and a 31 year old male has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Currently there is no information to suggest any further individuals are involved. I appreciate that this have caused considerable shock and concern for our communities. Our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are patrolling the local area to provide reassurance, and also advice and guidance to anyone who has concerns. I encourage residents to speak with them if they need any support or have any information that may assist the investigation. 

This week marks the national Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Awareness Week. According to the 2024 Your Area survey, ASB remains the top concern for nearly half of Wiltshire residents. Throughout the week, my team has worked closely with your office and partner agencies — including Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council — to deliver a coordinated response to community concerns about ASB.

Our Neighbourhood Policing Teams have been actively engaging with communities through a series of collaborative meetings and high-visibility pop-up events in key ASB hotspots. Starting in Amesbury and Salisbury, these activities moved through Warminster, Trowbridge, and continued across Swindon, Devizes, Calne, and Chippenham.

These events, featuring one of our mobile police stations, provided residents the chance to raise concerns, get advice, and learn how to report ASB effectively. Alongside this, officers conducted targeted patrols and problem-solving activities based on local intelligence — demonstrating our commitment to addressing ASB as a top priority that affects public confidence and community wellbeing.

It is essential that Wiltshire Police are as visible and responsive as possible. It is an absolute honour and a privilege to work with our communities and stakeholders, and I encourage people to share their thoughts and feedback so we can always improve. As part of this, I had the pleasure of joining the Wiltshire Youth Parliament in County Hall, Trowbridge this week. We had engaging discussions around trust and confidence in policing, and I was truly impressed by their insight and ideas about further joint working, and how we can support children and young people further.

This follows an intense week during Neighbourhood Policing Week of Action, when our officers highlighted the often unseen but vital work they do. Beyond visible patrols, Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPTs), Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), and volunteers support Wiltshire’s communities in many ways. You can explore their stories on the dedicated Neighbourhood Policing in Action page on our website.

Here are some key successes from the week:

To learn more about local NPT efforts, I encourage you to read open letters from Chief Inspector Carly Nesbitt (Swindon) and Chief Inspector Graham McLaughlin (County). Also, follow our social media channels and visit the Your area section on our website to connect with your local team.

One of the big concerns for our communities is the use of illegal e-scooters and e-bikes. As I am sure that you will have seen, these vehicles have attracted national focus recently for safety concerns and how unsafe they are making people feel. 

Last week, Wiltshire Police launched Operation Jetsom, which is a force-wide clamp down against the use of these vehicles. This will involve an education phase until the end of July. From August 1, anyone who is stopped riding an illegal e-scooter or modified, high-powered e-bikes can expect to have it seized and destroyed.

We know of the considerable public concern around these modes of transport and their associated links with wider criminality, and I welcome your support for this initiative. Residents can find more information and details of what is legal on our website: Operation to clamp down on illegal e-bikes and e-scooters launched | Wiltshire Police

Forces across the region have once again focused their efforts on Operation Scorpion, targeting drug dealing and associated crime, which ran in conjunction with the national County Lines Intensification Week. We have been working with our colleagues in four other police forces across the South West (Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire), alongside their Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners, the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) and the charity Crimestoppers, as part of the operation.

Results were impressive, and include:

Beyond enforcement, we safeguarded 30 adults and 120 juveniles, seized 50 vapes from schools for safety checks, and visited postal sorting offices to raise awareness of weapon and drug parcel interceptions. These achievements reflect excellent cross-departmental collaboration within Wiltshire Police, especially notable given the simultaneous focus on Neighbourhood Policing Week.

We know that criminals exploit vulnerable people, including children and those with mental health or addiction issues, by recruiting them to distribute drugs or commit other types of criminality. Exploitation can be recognised through children becoming withdrawn, appearing secretive, wearing new and expensive clothing which they normally could not afford and appearing to rapidly change friendship groups. There is more information available here or visit Child criminal exploitation | Child abuse | Wiltshire Police.

Often those vulnerable people carry knives to protect themselves, which can result in other tragic consequences. Recently, Sergeant Gemma Rutter wrote an open letter to parents across Wiltshire asking them to speak to their children and to reach out for support if they had concerns. I have included the link here to provide further guidance and support to our communities to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep our children and young people safe. 

This week also saw our joint launch of Safer Streets Summer, a Home Office initiative aimed at boosting safety and reducing crime in town centres nationwide.  The action we are planning was informed by real-time crime data and community feedback, which directly informed your own Police and Crime Plan. 

Residents can expect to see: 

Finally, On Monday (7 July), I will be hosting my regular Facebook Live event at 6.30pm. I will be joined by the Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper, and we will be dedicating the session to anti-social behaviour. I look forward to hearing from our communities about any concerns, questions or suggestions they might have – and we will also talk more about the operational updates included in this letter. In addition to taking questions live during the hour-long session, they can also be submitted in advance via the Wiltshire Police Facebook page. 

Kindest regards,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police