Wiltshire Police urge public to report crimes

According to a recent Office of National Statistics report, covering the year ending December 2024, Wiltshire continues to have the lowest overall reported crime rate in the country, per 1,000 of population. 

According to the data, the number of total recorded crimes in Wiltshire fell by 5.6 percent, a decrease of 2,276 from 41,903 to 39,627, compared to the previous year. 

The figures also showed that the number of crimes relating to violence against the person decreased year-on-year by 3.8 percent (total 16,316), robbery by 29.6 percent (total 214) and theft by 10.4 percent (total 10,895). 

Within the theft category, burglary crimes reduced by 7.1 peecent (total 1,645.)

Other categories which saw decreases are possession of weapons by 13 percent (total 366), and public order by 3.6 percent  (total 3,496). 

Reported sexual offences increased by 7.7 percent year-on-year (total 2,060, an increase of 148 from the previous year), which remains the lowest number per 1,000 population compared to other forces in the south west and other similar sized forces.  

Other crime groups which increased include drugs by 10.8 percent (total 1,148 up from 1,036, an increase of 112 from the previous year) and miscellaneous by 13.2 percent (total 925).

Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Mark Cooper said: “While it is encouraging to see that Wiltshire continues to have the lowest number of crimes per 1,000 population of the 43 forces, we remain determined throughout the organisation to continue to drive improvements and build trust with our communities. 

“We are constantly reviewing and refining our processes, training and working in partnership to ensure that we deliver the best service possible for our communities, and it’s pleasing to see this ongoing work is contributing to the decrease in volume of some of the crime types. 

“Regarding sexual offences, we know that it is an underreported crime. Over the past year we have done a significant amount of work within the Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) space to encourage not only victims to report any offences to us, but also for members of the public to report when they see concerning behaviour. 

"This helps us gather intelligence on those who potentially pose a risk of causing sexual harm in our communities. 

“I would continue to encourage victims of sexual offences to have the confidence to come forward and report it as soon as possible so we can provide you the appropriate support and bring perpetrators to justice.” 

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “While I am pleased to see the latest figures are beginning to reflect the improvements being made within force, I also would like to encourage our residents to continue to report all crimes from across our communities.   

“Wiltshire Police is continuing to work hard to build trust and confidence with all communities but we know we see under-reporting of several different crime types for a variety of reasons, including victims who think they will not be believed or because the justice system takes too long to bring people to court or because residents think the punishments being handed out are too lenient. 

"I am working with our partners, commissioned services and those within the criminal justice system to try and end this cycle. 

“People also tell me that they don’t always report rural crime or business and retail crime because the method used to report it does not make it easy for them. My office is working with farmers, with businesses and retailers to try and change this too.    

“I am acutely aware there is still a long way to go, and we must continue to work closely with partners across the criminal justice system to ensure the necessary preventative measures are in place, that we make it as easy as we can to report crime, as well as ensuring all victims of crime are supported and receiving the best possible service. 

“As a result, I have continued to invest into victims' services for this reason. We know that crime cannot be eradicated completely so we must ensure the services my office are funding are delivering for victims when they need it most, regardless of whether they’ve chosen to report a crime to the police.”