THE Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police has promised quick action to improve the force after a new report highlighted a string of failures.

Kier Pritchard said he took the concerns raised by HMICFRS “very seriously” and a plan is already in place to address the problems which have landed the county’s cops in special measures.

This includes establishing a dedicated action taskforce to reset and improve the basics of public service, having focused ongoing training with frontline staff and their supervisors, introducing a ‘Volume Crime Team’ to improve how neighbourhood crime is investigated and victims are kept informed, and working with the Crown Prosecution Service to deliver better outcomes.

He said: “I know people join Wiltshire Police to make a difference and protect our communities, and it is clear from this report we have not been doing that to the standard and expectation the public have of us.

“As a force, whilst we are bitterly disappointed by the findings of the inspection, we are determined to address the improvements set out in the report.

“Improving service delivery is my highest priority as your Chief Constable, and my responsibility is to deliver a local policing service that the people of Wiltshire expect, pay for and deserve.

“Whilst our officers, staff and volunteers work incredibly hard in challenging circumstances, it is clear we have much more to do in focusing on the core service delivery.

Wiltshire Police is one of a handful of forces to be monitored under the Engage process, which will provide extra support and scrutiny while necessary changes are made.

Mr Pritchard added: “Ultimately this is about providing a better and more consistent policing service overall and we welcome the support this process will offer.  

“Learning from other organisations and utilising best practice can only be a good thing for our communities and we await further detail of what that package of support includes.   

“We intend to proactively publish our progress via our website so that we can demonstrate to our communities that we are making the necessary improvements.  

“There is no doubt that the very real and relevant challenges such as the Salisbury poisonings in 2018, the impact of the global Covid pandemic and other challenges facing policing - such as recruitment, experience gaps across parts of our workforce resulting from the national accelerated recruitment programme of police officers, the increasing complexity of policing demand and local demand on partners - have all had an impact upon our ability to provide consistently strong local service delivery.

“But all that said, we know what we need to do and we know where we need to improve. We will have a relentless focus on making the necessary improvements.

“Crime figures show that Wiltshire is one of the lowest crime areas in the country, but we are not complacent 

"I want to reassure you that we are already making positive improvements and will continue to do all that we can to meet the needs of the public.”