Wiltshire Police one of the best in the UK for disrupting organised crime, data says
41 forces from across the country submitted data
New national data has ranked Wiltshire Police as one of the best forces in the country for disrupting organised crime.
Over a two-year period, officers from Wiltshire recorded 3.27 disruptions per 1000 people, which is the highest of the 41 forces that submitted data.
Det Supt Ben Mant said praised the efforts of all in the force but added that the hard work of officers needs to continue, saying there is still “much more work to be done”.
“We recognise the significant community impact that serious organised crime, such as county lines and drug-related crime, can have on communities and we are determined to show that there is no place for it in Wiltshire.”
Det Supt Mant added that the work officers carry out is heavily reliant on intelligence from local communities, saying: “your information is invaluable as it allows us to build an informed picture and proactively targeted offenders.”
What is a disruption?
A disruption is classed as impacting an organised crime group (OCG) or an individual involved in serious organised crime (SOC), meaning they cannot operate at their usual level of criminality.
There are also four categories of ‘disruption’, which are pursue, protect, prevent, and prepare.
Here’s how each is defined:
Pursue – These include disruptions such as arrests, charges and convictions, e.g. a drug dealer sentenced to prison;
Protect – This concerns protecting individuals, families, businesses and communities against SOC, e.g. safeguarding a member of the public;
Prevent – This relates to deterring individuals from getting drawn into SOC and ensuring, wherever possible, previous offenders don’t return to crime, e.g. a visit to a school to educate children on the dangers of SOC;
Prepare – This concerns reducing the impact of SOC where it takes place by working collaboratively with private and public bodies, such as landlords and councils, to mitigate its impact.