Chief Constable Fortnightly Update to the Police and Crime Commissioner - 31 July 2026

Dear Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson,

Last week, it was confirmed that Wiltshire continues to have one of the lowest crime rates in England and is the safest police force area in the South West.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) crime rate data outlined that Wiltshire recorded 56.09 crimes per 1,000 population for year ending March 2026 - significantly lower than both the national average for England of 83.45 and the South West average of 73.49 for the same period. 

I hope that this, coupled with the recent confirmation that Wiltshire Police has been placed in the top tier of the new HMICFRS Policing Performance System, reassures our communities that we are working hard to continually improve our service to them.

Our vision of Keeping Wiltshire Safe is underpinned by my three operational priorities – Safer Public Spaces, reducing and preventing Violence against Women and Girls and improving outcomes for victims.

A key strand delivering Safer Public Spaces is preventing and reducing knife crime.

In the 12 months to May, there were 777 knife-enabled crimes reported in Wiltshire – an increase of 6.1% on the previous year. This rise is a significant concern to me, and I have directed greater proactivity to tackle this trend across all of my operational teams, focussing on those persons who are causing the most significant harm to our communities. This work is led by our operational lead for knife crime, Superintendent Mike Vass, who will be publishing our organisational knife crime strategy shortly. I will provide an update of the outcome of that activity in future letters.

However, knife enabled crime incidents involving offenders under the age of 18 has fallen significantly by 27.6% - a reduction of 42 offences from the year prior.

I believe that this demonstrates that our approach to sustained early intervention, education and partnership collaboration is having a positive impact.

This progress reflects a clear commitment to being child-centred: identifying risk earlier and intervening before children and young people become involved in violence, whether as victims, offenders or both. We have strengthened our focus on prevention, education and diversion, particularly for those most at risk.

Your continued support and funding of early intervention projects across the county, Commissioner, has been instrumental in this work.

Together, we have increased engagement with schools and education settings, supported diversionary and focused deterrence programmes, invested in community-based interventions and worked closely with families and professionals to reduce harm.

Programmes including DiversITy, Premier League Kicks, Synergy, Youth Commission and Roots and Shoots are making a real difference.

The Synergy programme has worked with 27 children across our area in the last year who were assessed as being at elevated risk of involvement in serious violence, often linked to vulnerabilities such as criminal exploitation, adverse childhood experiences or association with criminal peer groups. The programme has been recognised nationally as good practice and is now being considered for adoption by other police forces.

Our Blunt Truth education programme, delivered in collaboration with the NHS, has reached 5,080 young people over the last year. It educates children about the potentially life-changing consequences of carrying a knife and what to do if a friend or family member is stabbed.

We also continue to work closely with Owen’s World Foundation, established following the tragic death of 18-year-old Owen Dunn, who was fatally stabbed in Swindon in December 2022. The foundation has become a powerful voice in educating young people, families and communities about the dangers of knife crime and the devastating impact it has on those left behind.

We are also investing in innovative approaches, some of which have not previously been used elsewhere in the UK. 

One example of this is our work with a child psychologist to provide targeted one-to-one support for young people and address the underlying causes of violent behaviour. This work is also helping our officers and staff to better manage risk and engage with vulnerable young people over a longer period. It has been supported through funding received under the Serious Violence Duty.

Other initiatives we are involved in to reduce knife crime and the impact of this type of criminality include:

The collective positive impact of all this activity shows what can be achieved when partners work together with a shared focus on prevention, early intervention and enforcement where necessary.

Together, we are making a positive difference to the lives of young people across Wiltshire and helping to build safer, stronger communities.

I wholeheartedly back the national ambition to reduce knife crime by 50% by 2034, and to do this, we continue to monitor, evaluate and refine our approach. 

Knife crime is not an issue policing can solve alone. A public health-style approach remains central to our response, recognising that effective prevention relies on strong collaboration between policing, local authorities, health services, probation, youth justice, education, fire and rescue services, and the voluntary and community sector. 

Through these partnerships, we can better understand the causes of violence, identify vulnerability and risk earlier, and deliver coordinated interventions that achieve long-term change.

We want to hear our communities’ voice on our approach to tackling knife crime. To that end, our next Facebook Live event on August 10, will be dedicated to this issue and I will be joined by Supt Vass to take questions from the public. Our communities can join us via the Wiltshire Police Facebook page from 6.30pm. Questions can also be submitted in advance via the page.

Finally, I wanted to close this letter with a thank you to all involved in the Calne Bike Meet last weekend. I had the honour of attending, with my family, and more than 8,000 motorcyclists and enthusiasts who gathered in the town.

It was a fantastic community event, and it gave my officers the opportunity to speak directly with riders about road safety and the need for all road users to look out for one another. 

The event this year was held in tribute to motorcyclist Alex Daines, 35, who tragically lost his life during a collision on the A4 at West Kennett on July 19. He leaves behind his wife Sammi and their three children.

Sadly, we have seen an increase in the number of road traffic collisions involving motorcyclists in recent months and, since the beginning of the year, 57 motorcyclists have been seriously injured and three have lost their lives – including Alex.

My thoughts are with all their families, friends and loved ones. 

I also want to recognise the professionalism, compassion and care of the officers, staff and volunteers who have responded to these incidents, including response teams, the Serious Collision Investigation Team and family liaison officers.

We continue to encourage motorcyclists to refresh and develop their riding skills, while urging drivers of all vehicles to take extra care at junctions and to look twice for motorcycles. 

Through our BikeSafe programme, motorcyclists can enhance their skills, improve their road awareness and develop safer riding habits. I am pleased that 105 motorcyclists have taken part in BikeSafe so far this year. More information on the programme can be found here.

Kindest regards to you,

Catherine Roper

Chief Constable, Wiltshire Police