Extra £1 million to tackle anti-social behaviour across Wiltshire
The Home Office has given a grant to the Police and Crime Commissioner
An extra £1 million is coming to Wiltshire from the Home Office, to specifically tackle anti-social behaviour across the county.
The cash has been given to the Police and Crime Commissioner's office, with the aim of increasing police visibility in known hotspots.
The funding comes after a significant improvement in crime rates over the last year, with a 10.3% fall in ASB incidents reported.
More than 2,400 hours of extra patrols have been carried out in eleven parts of Wiltshire and Swindon to help towards that figure.
ASB street wardens have also been brought in for Salisbury, Trowbridge, Devizes and Swindon - along with extra CCTV, youth work and anti-spiking kits for licenced venues.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson said:
“Antisocial behaviour continues to be the primary concern that residents raise with me and this additional funding from the Home Office allows the significant progress made so far in tackling it to continue through increased visibility and community engagement.
“ASB is decreasing in Wiltshire and Swindon and residents are feeling safer as a result – however, we must ensure that we do not lose momentum, and I will be holding our Chief Constable to account to ensure that the progress made so far continues to be built upon.
“One of my priorities is to reduce anti-social behaviour and serious violence in Wiltshire and Swindon, and through using funding like this and working with our partners, we can make our communities a safer place to live and work.”
Wiltshire Police Chief Constable, Catherine Roper said: “Tackling ASB is at the heart of Safer Public Spaces - a key operational priority for the Force - and we continue to bolster our response through dedicated hotspot patrolling and increased visibility within our communities – with over 2,400 hours of police ASB patrols since May 2024. This has enabled greater levels of engagement within local communities on this issue.
“Other operational outcomes for ASB since May 2024 have included; 131 arrests in relation to 277 ASB incidents, 46 Stop Searches, nine weapons have been seized and several Criminal Behaviour Orders, Public Space Protection Order breach tickets and Community Resolutions have been issued.
“We have placed increased focus on repeat victims, repeat locations and repeat offenders, working closely with our partner agencies to problem solve and design out crime. The use of our Mobile Police Stations, funded by the OPCC, has enhanced police access in our more rural communities and at key events across the county.
“Our communities can find out more about how our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are tackling concerns from our communities on Wiltshire Police's website.
“We will continue to work closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner and other partner agencies on identifying the root causes of ASB so that we can work together on longer term and sustained solutions."