News

Wiltshire PCC Philip Wilkinson is encouraging victims and witnesses to continue to report crimes to Wiltshire Police.

This comes as latest figures published by the Office of National statistics show Wiltshire continues to have the lowest overall reported crime rate in the country, per 1,000 of population. According to the latest report, published yesterday (24/04) and covering the year ending December 2024, the number of total recorded crimes in Wiltshire fell by -5.6% - 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% (total 16,316), robbery by -29.6% (total 214 and theft by -10.4% (total 10,895).

Within the theft category, burglary crimes reduced by -7.1% year on year, a decrease of 126 offences from 1,771 to 1,645.

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

Reported sexual offences increased by 7.7% 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% (total 1,148 up from 1,036, an increase of 112 from the previous year) and miscellaneous by 13.2% (total 925).

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 won’t 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.”