Wiltshire’s PCC taking south west lead on rural crime
Philip Wilkinson will be the south west's voice on rural crime
Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson has been named as the south west’s regional voice on Rural Crime.
Since taking office in 2021, Mr Wilkinson has targeted rural crime in the county by driving investment into Wiltshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, saying, “Ensuring all of our communities are provided with a quality, effective, policing service has always been a key priority to me.”
That included the introduction of a state-of-the-art drone and night vision capability, as well as extra vehicles and deeper resources for the team.
But earlier this year, Mr Wilkinson said more needs to be done to address rural crime in Wiltshire.
The PCC has been elected as the representative for the five south west PCC’s on the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) board.
He says he will be lobbying for new equipment to have the latest tracking technology.
“I will be able to ensure that our south west rural communities' concerns are championed at the highest level.
“At a national level I believe more can be done to prevent the export of stolen agricultural equipment through UK ports and I intend to join the national lobby to introduce legislation that will force the manufacturers of agricultural equipment, quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles to be fitted with the latest tracking devices.”
A new regional initiative
The PCC says that both he and Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Catherine Roper are committed to eliminating criminal activity in Wiltshire.
"Farmers and people who live in rural communities constantly tell me how fed up they are with the high-value thefts of equipment, of the destruction of land and crops and feeling unsafe in their own homes during seasonal criminal activity.
“We should also absolutely protect our designated heritage sites from destruction - criminals do not care if our heritage is lost or destroyed.”
In September the PCC’s launched a regional, co-ordinated campaign to tackle rural crime further, called Operation Ragwort.
This new initiative focuses on the disruption of Organised Crime Groups (OGC’s) who are targeting rural areas with burglary, poaching and hare coursing.
“Operation Ragwort and bringing together our regions' police and crime commissioners and respective forces will be key to this.
“I want to help build the capacity of police forces across the south of England - not just in the south-west - in order to better understand the network of these organised criminal groups so that we can engage more proactively in enforcement and disruption operations when the intelligence and evidences allows.”