The Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel met to discuss a number of issues, including an update from Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, OBE, MPhil, a performance report, and retail crime. The meeting was also scheduled to include a discussion of the role of special constables and ways to improve communication with the public.

Police and Crime Plan Highlight and Performance Report

The Panel was scheduled to receive the Police and Crime Plan Highlight and Performance Report. The report included updates on the following topics:

• A police service that meets the needs of its community
• Reducing violence and serious harm
• Tackling crimes that matter to local communities
• Improving the experience of victims and deliver justice

The report stated that Wiltshire Police had shown strong improvements, and performed consistently better than other similar areas. It noted that further improvement was required in victim care and investigations.

The report also included data on the performance of the Crime & Communication Centre (CCC), also known as the 999 service, the CCH (101 service) and the CRIB service. For the 999 service, in the 12 months to September 2025, the average time to answer was 5 seconds, a year-on-year decrease of 4 seconds compared to the 12 months to September 2024. For the 101 service, the average time to answer in the 12 months to September 2025 was 38 seconds, a decrease of 22 seconds compared to the 12 months to September 2024.

With respect to violence, the report noted that for the month of September 2025, the Violence with Injury (VWI) offence volume was 508. In the 12 months to September 2025 the VWI offence volume was 5,760, an increase of 5.4% compared with the 12 months to September 2024, with increasing rates observed across Swindon and the county.

With respect to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), the report stated that September 2025 recorded a total of 794 ASB incidents. ASB incidents in the 12 months to September 2025 totalled 9230, a decrease of 12.6% compared with the 12 months to September 2024.

The report stated that in the 12 months to September 2025, the overall victim satisfaction rate reached 74.6%, an increase of 2.1% compared with the 12 months to September 2024.

Chairman's Announcements

Councillor Junab Ali, Swindon Borough Council (Chairman) was scheduled to make announcements, including one about the proposed replacement of the Police and Crime Commissioner model from 2028. A letter from Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State for Policing and Crime, included in the Public Reports Pack set out proposed reforms to policing governance. The letter stated that the government intended to abolish the PCC model at the end of the current term in 2028 and transfer police governance functions to Mayors of Strategic Authorities wherever possible, or to elected local council leaders where it is not. Where it is not possible to transfer PCC functions to Mayors, the government intended to create new local Policing and Crime Boards to bring local government leaders together to oversee the police force in their area. The letter also stated that the role of Police and Crime Panels would also be abolished in 2028.

Special Constables

The Panel was scheduled to receive a presentation about Special Constables and their role in Wiltshire Police. Special constables are volunteer police officers who have the same powers as regular officers¹.

Retail Crime

The Panel was scheduled to receive a presentation about efforts to tackle retail crime. Retail crime is a significant issue for businesses, and can include theft, fraud, and violence².

Other Business

The agenda also included:

• An update from Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, OBE, MPhil.
• A chance for panel members to ask the Police and Crime Commissioner questions.
• A review of the forward work plan.
• A discussion of how the Police and Crime Panel can improve its communications with the wider public.
• An update on future meeting dates.
• Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting held on 11 September 2025 and the complaints sub-committee meeting held on 1 October 2025.