Chief Constable fortnightly update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 2 January 2026

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, 

As we begin 2026, I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the past year for Wiltshire Police. 2025 has involved a mixture of high operational demand and positive progress in areas that matter to the residents of Wiltshire. 

We saw several serious incidents during the year which had a profound impact on our communities and our workforce. Across the county we have responded to incidents which have resulted in tragic loss of life, and where appropriate we have worked with the criminal justice process to secure convictions. We know that these cases bring deep distress to families and communities, and I again want to send our condolences to the friends and families who have suffered loss.

A significant step forward for Wiltshire Police is our improvement in public trust and confidence. Wiltshire Police is now the third most trusted force in England and Wales according to annual figures published by the Office of National Statistics.

The data shows that 58% of people believe Wiltshire Police do an excellent or good job, well above the UK average of 49%. This reflects the work my officers, staff and volunteers have undertaken to improve the service we provide to the communities of Wiltshire. The most important part of this statistic is knowing that when people need us most, they are more likely to pick up the phone.

Further data published by the Office for National Statistics in October 2025 showed a 4.5% reduction in weapon offences and a 6.5% reduction in theft offences in Wiltshire compared to the previous year. This reduction reflects the impact of increased Neighbourhood Policing, and other operational team, patrols; improved CCTV coverage, and collaborative work with local businesses to deter opportunistic theft and repeat offending. 

In the last 12 months, Wiltshire Police has carried out a large number of rural operations to target criminals who focus on our rural communities. In December, my officers, along with yourself, attended a rural community event. I would like to thank the community members who have provided their expert knowledge to support us in tackling crimes such as hare coursing and organised machinery theft.

This year has seen us take a whole-Force approach to tackle this type of criminality, with specialist officers, Neighbourhood Policing Teams and intelligence teams taking part in operations. Let me be clear to both reassure rural communities and send a very direct message to those who commit rural criminality – like all behaviour that causes harm to others, rural crime will not be tolerated in Wiltshire, and 2026 will see greater proactive and robust policing activity to hold those responsible to account. 

In February, we had the honour of presenting to Her Majesty The Queen when she visited Bowood House in Wiltshire. Hosted by the Chair of the Wiltshire Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) Coalition, The Marchioness of Lansdowne, Her Majesty heard about the progress being made across the county to tackle violence against women and girls. The Coalition brings together partners from policing, members of the judiciary, representatives from domestic abuse organisations, and business leaders to improve prevention, support and outcomes for victims. The visit underlined the strength of collaborative working across agencies to address VAWG and reinforced our continued commitment to delivering professional, victim-focused policing in this area.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) has remained a clear priority throughout 2025 and will continue into 2026. Wiltshire Police will continue to focus on supporting victims and holding perpetrators to account, while implementing the Government’s new VAWG strategy. Our Deputy Chief Constable will be working closely with the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to ensure Wiltshire Police is at the forefront of all opportunities to improve our service in this area.

Our ongoing commitment to the national Operation Soteria scheme aimed at increasing the number of adult rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) cases reaching charge has seen Wiltshire Police achieve a 76% conviction rate in 2025. 

To support our ongoing improvements to rape investigations we have continued to invest in training, including a recent Crown Prosecution Service and Police away day to strengthen operational relationships and improve decision making in RASSO investigations. This has received positive feedback, and further events are planned for 2026. We have also reinforced our victim centred approach through specialist training delivered by independent experts who have provided critical friend challenge to ensure pan-Force improvements.

Throughout 2025, we have also continued Project Vigilant deployments, which have proactively challenged predatory behaviour. Wiltshire Police has become a leading force in this space, delivering training to other forces and incorporating drones into deployments. 

This year has also seen Project Vigilant used to develop our workforce and strengthen community engagement, with student police officers deployed on operations to gain early experience of proactive policing while building investigative skills, intelligence awareness and confidence in public engagement. 

This work has been strengthened through our nationally recognised Vigilant Communities initiative, rolled out across Wiltshire to build community resilience against predatory behaviour. Training delivered by our specialist VAWG team helps trusted members of the public, “Vigilant Guardians”, to spot early signs of predatory behaviour, promote reporting and share intelligence that directly supports policing action. 

Our 2024 stalking awareness campaign has continued have impact in 2025, with a 24.1% rise in reports. Alongside Project Vigilant and Vigilant Communities, this shows the value of partnership work and public engagement in tackling predatory behaviour.

Supporting and protecting children and young persons is a core part of our policing approach and a personal priority in my role as the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) lead for Children and Young Persons (CYP).

In January, the Youth Justice Minister visited Wiltshire Police to see how we are working with partners to intervene early where children are at risk of exploitation, violence or criminalisation. The visit recognised the progress being made locally through strong partnership working with youth justice services, education, health and voluntary organisations.

Across the year, we have continued to embed child-centred policing principles in line with national NPCC guidance. This includes recognising that children who come into contact with the police are often victims, even where criminal behaviour is present.

In particular, a focus has been on improvements within custody, where changes have been made to better reflect the needs of CYP during this extremely impactful stage of the criminal justice process.

This includes:

We have also continued a range of preventative and engagement activities aimed at reducing harm and building trust with CYP, including:

There remains more to do, particularly as we continue to see crimes linked to vulnerability, mental health and exploitation. However, the progress made this year provides a strong foundation as we move forward. 

Wiltshire Police is recognised as a national leader in the use of Out of Court Resolutions for CYP. This reflects our focus on early intervention and appropriate diversion, with national data placing Wiltshire among the strongest forces for positive outcomes for young persons.

However, educating and engaging CYP does not prevent us from holding them to account. For example - Operation Jetsom, which was the 2025 proactive operation to tackle illegal e-scooter and e-bike usage, began in July with a month of highly publicised education to guide people as to what was acceptable and what was not in terms of e-bikes and e-scooters.  In August, the operation then moved to enforcement, and Wiltshire Police seized and destroyed over 140 illegal e‑scooters and modified e‑bikes to reduce harm, as well as providing further education to users to make it clear that breaches of the law will be addressed.

In October, following the Panorama programme highlighting failures within the Metropolitan Police, I wrote openly to you to reaffirm our values and the standards expected within Wiltshire Police.

I would like to take the opportunity to reiterate that I expect the very highest level of professionalism, care and diligence from each of my officers, staff and volunteers. Wherever these standards fall short we will continue to deal with misconduct robustly with transparency.

Our communities can find out more about our misconduct processes, see upcoming hearings and read misconduct hearing outcomes on this section of our website.

The creation of the Force Organisational Learning Board has improved how we identify, share and act on our commitment to continuous improvement. Accountability and learning are critical to improving the service we provide to the communities of Wiltshire. 

December 2025 saw the conclusion of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry, with the Inquiry Chair, Lord Hughes, publishing his report. At the heart of this Inquiry are Dawn’s family and loved ones, and I would once again like to acknowledge the profound impact this tragedy has had on them and how sorry we are for their loss.

As I have mentioned before, this was a significant moment for Wiltshire Police and our communities, providing an opportunity to reflect professionally on events in 2018 and to commit to learning any further lessons identified in the final report.

In addition to our 21 self-identified improvements, we fully accept all the recommendations made in the Inquiry report, and I am committed to ensuring these will be implemented via the Force’s Organisational Learning Board. 

Over the past year, Wiltshire Police has continued to manage significant financial pressures. As you are aware, we entered this financial year knowing we needed to save £6.8 million. During the year, further funding challenges required this saving to increase to nearly £8 million. We put in place a strong financial review programme and delivered those savings while continuing to improve outcomes for our communities. With continued pressure on public finances as we enter 2026, this work remains ongoing and will continue to require difficult but necessary decisions.

Looking ahead, we welcome the findings of our next HMICFRS PEEL inspection in Spring 2026 and the recommendations set out in the forthcoming Government Policing Reform White Paper. Both will provide important external scrutiny and direction as we continue to improve our service to the people of Wiltshire. 

I would like to recognise the support and challenge provided by our partners and by you as Police and Crime Commissioner. As we begin the year ahead, our focus remains on protecting the most vulnerable, preventing harm and supporting our workforce to ensure we are keeping Wiltshire safe.

Finally, 2025 also saw several Wiltshire Police representatives receiving awards. I am immensely proud of the recognition received by our officers, staff and volunteers including:

These awards are testament, once again, that Wiltshire Police officers, staff and volunteers demonstrate the highest values of public service, and I am so very grateful for their commitment.

Kindest regards and best wishes for 2026.

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police