Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon

New measures to combat knife crime - including Ronan's Law which introduces tougher penalties to selling weapons to U18s and the mandatory reporting of suspicious knife sales - will help to enhance community safety and hopefully reduce knife crime. Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson has welcomed the tougher laws and said these additions will help support the package of preventative measures currently being carried out by his office and partners. He said: "We need to ensure that the laws empower our officers and courts to effectively deal with those who use knives to intimidate or cause harm. “Wiltshire may statistically have some of the lowest levels of knife crime in the country, but we have seen all too often the devastating consequences of carrying a knife. "My office remains committed to educating young people on the dangers of carrying bladed weapons and supporting initiatives that steer them away from violence.” #MakingWiltshireSafer

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, was delighted to attend the International Mother Language Day Programme today invited by the host, Swindon Bangladesh Association to celebrate International Mother Language Day. It’s a day that emphasises the importance of language preservation in safeguarding cultural heritage, improving education, and fostering more peaceful societies. The Commissioner shared his thoughts on the importance of protecting different languages, heritage and cultures. He said "International Mother Language Day is a celebration of integrity, diversity and a clear demonstration that we can all come together and live in harmony. Swindon is a remarkable example of the fact that many different communities can come together in mutual respect for one another, retaining their own language, culture and heritage but work together for the benefit of everybody". #MakingWiltshireSafer #InternationalMotherLanguageDay #Culture #Heritage #Inclusion

Today Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson joined Splash, part of Youth Action Wiltshire and Community First during the delivery of one its holiday sessions aimed at supporting young victims of crime at a Bromham cookery school this week.   Splash, which is part-funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner to support young victims and deliver priority four of his police and crime plan, deals with between 350-400 referrals of under 18s yearly from a variety of sources including Horizon Victim and Witness Care Team, Wiltshire Police and schools and colleges #MakingWiltshireSafer To find out more about the Commissioner's visit and the great work that Splash does, clicking on the link below 👇

The APCC has today published 'Towards better local partnerships systems in England and Wales', a new report which highlights the crucial role of effective cross-sector work in reducing crime and making communities safer, overseen and coordinated by locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners. 🤝 Use the links below to access the report, as well as comments from APCC Prevention Leads, Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Clare Moody ⤵️ #PCCsMakingADifference Merseyside Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell

Young people are being urged to Spot the signs, Stop the crime as the second phase of child exploitation campaign launches – with a continued focus on educating young people on the indicators that someone they know may be being exploited. In November, with Wiltshire Police we ran a joint campaign targeting child criminal exploitation, known as CCE, in our communities – where adults or older children groom young people, providing them with cash and/or gifts and a sense of being part of a group. The young person is then manipulated and pressured into doing things like stealing or carrying drugs or weapons in return. Targeted messaging on TikTok and Snapchat, as well as a week of educational visits to schools, reached more than 100,000 young people and parents or guardians, providing them with advice and guidance on how to spot the signs that exploitation may be taking over a person’s life. Starting today (17/02), the second phase of the campaign will run for two weeks, featuring further targeted messaging on social media platforms, alongside Spotify adverts, and billboards around Swindon. Find out more by clicking the link in the comments 👇 #EndExploitation #SpotTheSignsStopTheCrime #MakingWiltshireSafer

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) matters to local communities and YouGov research released as part of ASB Awareness Week last year found more than one in four feel unsafe in their local area (Association of Police and Crime Commissioners). In Wiltshire and Swindon, Wiltshire Police have used statistical analysis to identify location hotspots and with the £1M of extra funding secured by the OPCC from the UK Home Office. Examples of how that money has been spent includes. 👉 ASB Wardens in Swindon, Trowbridge, Devizes and Salisbury 👉Walk and Talk sessions in Swindon with a senior female Wiltshire Police officer 👉Funded additional CCTV in hotspot areas 👉Last November more than 6000 additional hours of highly visible patrols had been carried out across the county. Philip Wilkinson: PCC Wiltshire and Swindon said “With additional funding secured by my Office from the government’s Hotspot Response Fund, we have been able to further bolster Wiltshire Police’s efforts with additional resources to target the anti-social behaviour and serious violence in some of the worst affected areas in Wiltshire and Swindon". Watch the video to find out more about ASB hotspot funding. To find out more about how we're targeting it in #Wiltshire and #Swindon, see the links below in the comments. #MakingWiltshireSafer #PCCSMakingADifference

This #SaferInternetDay we want to raise awareness about the advice and support that we have on our website. In our Youth Zone section, we have information for parents, carers, teachers and young people about Online Bullying and Online and Cyber Safety.   In our Victim and Witness hub, we have information on stalking and fraud, which unfortunately can both take place online.   See links to access these pages full of useful advice and supporting agencies that can help you 👇 Online Bullying https://lnkd.in/e8v_m7Bg Online Cyber Safety https://lnkd.in/e28PqSyE Victim and Witness Hub https://lnkd.in/eNQ2gaRm Follow UK Safer Internet Centre for more information and focused advice about online scams and how to avoid them #MakingWiltshireSafer

The transformation of key service delivery within Wiltshire Police is set to continue into the next financial year after Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Philip Wilkinson’s budget was given the green light yesterday. The county’s cross-party Police and Crime Panel, which holds the PCC to account, unanimously backed the budget for 2025/26 to enable the force to maintain quality and efficient policing services while tackling its financial challenges. Mr Wilkinson said “I thank the panel for setting aside any political differences and giving approval to a budget which is desperately needed to continue making Wiltshire a safer place for people to live, work and visit. “Wiltshire Police still needs to make £6.8m savings and I am asking the Chief Constable to do ever more with less funding. In fact, I am asking her to improve the policing service in Wiltshire, asking them to be more visible and effective with less than the majority of Chief Constables across the country. To find out more what the Commissioner said, see the news piece on our website by clicking on the link below. #MakingWiltshireSafer #Policing #Wiltshire #Swindon

Wiltshire and Swindon have the lowest overall crime rate in the country with 52.8 crimes per 1,000 people (total 39,715), according to figures published by the Office of National Statistics. The report, which covers the year ending September 2024, also states the force ranks lowest nationally in crimes related to violence against the person (22.1 crimes per 1,000 population – total 16,220), drug offences (1.4 crimes per 1,000 population - total 1,054) and knife crime (34 crimes per 100,000 population), with knife crime also being down 19% year on year (total 254). Read the full story by clicking the link in the comments below👇 #MakingWiltshireSafer

📍Twenty five locations 📍Over seven hundred and fifty miles But what has this got to do with the money coming out of your bank account every month and how can you have your say on how much you pay? For the past four weeks, we've visited twenty-five different locations and travelled over seven hundred and fifty miles to hear your views on policing in Wiltshire and to talk about your willingness to pay more for Wiltshire Police through your council tax. We've heard some good reasons why you might want to pay more, and some understandable reasons why you don't. Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to stop and say hello. This is your last chance to make sure your opinions are heard by taking part in our Use Your Voice survey, which closes tomorrow. 👉 Take the survey here: https://lnkd.in/edkwggBp #MakingWiltshireSafer