Wiltshire continues to have the lowest total recorded crime per head of population in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics’ Quarterly Crime Data published last week.
However, PCC Philip Wilkinson has said there is still work to be done to ensure public confidence in policing, including working closely with victims of all crime types to improve their experiences and deliver justice.
The latest ONS statistical round-up ‘Crime in England and Wales: year ending June 2024 shows that there were 40,477 instances of total recorded crime (excluding fraud) in this period.
This represents a 7% decrease in the previous period and 53.9 crimes per 1,000 people in the Wiltshire Police force area against a national average of 89.1 crimes.
Decreases include reductions in violence against the person (-10%) and robbery (-33%) which aligns with priorities within the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan to drive down violence and make Wiltshire safer. This is in addition to a decrease in burglary reports (-8%) which Chief Constable Catherine Roper has made an operational priority in addition to making a commitment that all victims of home burglaries will receive a visit from police.
Despite this positive outlook, there were still increases in specific crime types within Wiltshire including sexual offences (+1%), vehicle offences (+8% with 2,440 instances), theft from the person (+13% with 296 instances) and possession of weapon offences (+5 percent with 423 instances).
Mr Wilkinson said: “While the statistics on Wiltshire Police recorded crimes paint a positive picture, it is not enough for residents to be told they are safe, but instead we must ensure they feel safe in their communities too.
“The only way we can do this is to ensure we are continuously working to rebuild public confidence within the force, by working closely with partners and victims themselves.
“We need to ensure that residents are receiving a consistent and high standard of policing service, without this we cannot be confident that recorded crimes covered by these statistics are reflective of the realities our communities are living in.
“We know we cannot eradicate crime completely, but we can continue to make the necessary improvements and build upon this generally positive picture to ensure the public feel safe living, working and visiting Wiltshire.”
To ensure victims of crime are receiving the best possible service from the police and specialist victim support services commissioned by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), those affected by crime are being asked to complete a short survey with the aim of improving the victim journey and increasing confidence in reporting and accessing support.
The survey is available on the OPCC website: Your experiences of crime feedback survey.
