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Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson has warned that Wiltshire residents are being short-changed by an ‘outdated and unfair’ funding system - leaving officers under increasing strain to meet rising demand.His comments come as His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) published its State of Policing 2024-25 report, which highlights how current funding arrangements fail to reflect the true pressures on forces.
Mr Wilkinson has also written to the new Policing Minister Sarah Jones following his update on the financial position of the organisation - after Wiltshire Police implemented the Financial Review Programme (FRP) earlier - was presented to Wiltshire and Swindon Police and Crime Panel last week.
Panel members heard that despite savings being made across the estate footprint and reductions in its fleet and people, in addition to improving its procurement processes, the Force will struggle to continue its current improvement journey unless the police funding formula changes to reflect demand.
Mr Wilkinson robustly echoed these concerns to the latest Policing Minister and encouraged the new Home Secretary to look more closely.
Mr Wilkinson said: “Since 2021, I have been raising concerns the current police funding formula simply does not work for Wiltshire. It fails to recognise the rural nature of our county, the real cost of delivering services across such a large geographic area, and the changing demands of modern policing.
“Wiltshire Police is being asked to do more than ever before - from tackling serious violence, fraud and cyber crime, to supporting victims, safeguarding children, and responding to mental health crises - but with resources that don’t match that reality.
"The latest State of Policing report only serves to underline what we already know: this formula is outdated and urgently needs reform.
“As part of the FRP, Wiltshire Police has already cut out all the fat and made savings wherever it can but cutting any more is going to result in a decline in the policing service the Force can provide for our residents.
“Despite what looks like an increase in government funding, the reality is that policing hasn’t received more money from the centre. Instead, the Government has built its funding model on the assumption that local PCCs will raise council tax every year just to stand still.
“That means residents are left paying more, while Wiltshire Police still faces the same financial pressures.
“This leaves residents with little choice but to shoulder more of the burden and removes the flexibility for PCCs to protect communities from additional rises. Cost increases in legal services, insurance, and increasing pay, alongside growing demand, risk stretching frontline services further.”
The PCC also highlighted the challenge of keeping pace with rapid technological change. Mr Wilkinson added: “Technology offers huge opportunities to free up police time and improve how we investigate crime but capital investment is essential.
"Wiltshire Police is working hard in this space, and with stronger financial governance, but without stable, long-term funding, it is potentially forced into making shorter-term decisions than it would like to and that then has the knock-on effect of slowing down innovation and impacting on longer term technological growth.”
The national report also flagged the impact of a less experienced workforce, something Wiltshire is also grappling with.
Mr Wilkinson said: “We welcome the energy, enthusiasm and adaptability that younger officers bring - and many are helping us to modernise our approach.
“However, numbers alone don’t solve the problem. We need to retain experience, invest in training and give our officers the right tools to succeed.”
Alongside these challenges, Mr Wilkinson emphasised that Wiltshire Police has made significant strides under the leadership of Chief Constable Catherine Roper with the Force delivering performance and service improvements – and which saw it removed from the HMICFRS Engage process last year.
Mr Wilkinson continued: “While I am proud of the progress that has been made locally in recent years under Chief Constable Catherine Roper, we both recognise that there is still work to be done so that every victim and witness is receiving the service they deserve, and rightly, expect from Wiltshire Police.
“This leadership has already meant changes are being delivered at pace and Wiltshire Police is now in a far stronger position than it was a few years ago. The Force also has much stronger grip and governance on its finances.
“But to maintain and build on this trajectory, we need fairer funding.”
The PCC has called on the Home Office in the past to prioritise reform of the funding formula and to provide multi-year settlements that give forces certainty to plan for the future. Mr Wilkinson said he hopes the new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood listens to those who are having to deal with the funding reality daily.
Mr Wilkinson added: “This is not just about balance sheets. An outdated funding formula has a direct impact on our ability to keep Wiltshire safe now and into the future.
“Wiltshire Police is absolutely doing the best it can. It has moved from Engage and is performing across many of the areas where service was less than desirable a few years ago. In order to sustain this, Wiltshire Police needs to be funded properly.
“We cannot continue to keep placing the burden on our taxpaying community and expecting them to make up the central government shortfall. The Government’s reliance on baked-in council tax precept increases effectively forces local people to pay more every year just to maintain current levels of service — and that is neither fair nor sustainable.
“If we do not get the correct investment, if we cannot balance the books, it means a poorer service for Wiltshire. It means slower response times, reduced visibility, overworked officers and delayed investigations.
“Wiltshire residents deserve better. It is time the government reformed this system to deliver fair and sustainable funding for policing and provided the investment needed to equip officers for the challenges of modern crime.”
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