Wiltshire Police performance on violence worsening - report

Police performance in Wiltshire is getting worse in a number of areas, including tackling violence, says the latest police and crime plan report.

Of the 66 measures of the force's performance, 28 are declining, 37 are improving and one is unchanged.

Performance in reducing violence and improving victim experience are among the areas most seriously in decline.

But Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Philip Wilkinson said he was "confident" things were getting better.

He told the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel, which was discussing the report last week, that, overall, Wiltshire Police would be a "much better force" by the end of this year.

Wiltshire Police was placed into special measures last year by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

While the force has taken more formal action on rape and sexual assault cases, with a 65.8% increase since last year, the time to charge for those cases is 44.7% higher than last year.

Formal action taken in cases of stalking and harassment cases has decreased by about 5%.

Mr Wilkinson was grilled on the performance decline by a series of councillors.

Councillor Steve Bucknell said: "To see that these levels are declining means those areas are worse than when you took over as PCC, which means the ship is going completely the wrong direction, is that right?"

In response, Mr Wilkinson said many of the reforms and new training courses that had been put in place were "just about to come to fruition".

He added: "We've seen big improvement in the area of rape and sexual assault.

"We are getting much better at dealing with domestic abuse, we are getting much better and, on anti-social behaviour, we have had some serious successes in Wiltshire.

"Am I confident that things are going to get better? Yes I am."

Mr Wilkinson added he hoped by the end of the year the force would be out of special measures, with "far more positive indicators and very, very few areas where we are not delivering".

"There will be some, but we will overall be a much better force by the end of this 2023," he said.

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