Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police Catherine Roper, inset, has vowed not to cut officer numbers

Wiltshire Police vows to improve despite extra £5.2m funding gap

Paul JonesJanuary 10, 20250 Comment0

OFFICER numbers will not be reduced – despite making savings of more than £6 million in 2025/26 – the chief of Wiltshire Police says.

Having already outlined plans to cut force spending by £1.2m, Chief Constable Catherine Roper said after receiving details of funding to come from the Home Office, an extra £5.2m of cuts had to be found.

Measures to achieve the savings are outlined in a draft Budget, which will be discussed at next week’s Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel meeting.

And Chief Constable Roper moved to reassure people she is committed to not reducing police officer numbers, while improving visibility in communities and public access to police services.

“The financial situation poses challenges and we are having to review how we deliver our service to the public,” she said. “However, our priority is ensuring that we limit the impact on how we deliver our frontline, operational services as much as we are able.

“To this end, there will be no reduction in our police officer numbers, and I am committed to moving our frontline resources to those places the public need us the most.”

She said savings will be made through the police estate – buildings – as well as in managing vehicle numbers and not recruiting for ‘non-operational roles’.

“Our focus and energy remain fixed on Keeping Wiltshire Safe. We will be focused on our resilience, visibility and managing our resources responsibly to respond to those incidents posing the greatest threat, harm and risk to our communities,” the chief constable went on.

“The PCC and I are clear that we will not lose momentum in the strides we’ve made in improving the standard of service we deliver and our community engagement.

“Our savings proposals are focused primarily on efficiencies with our estate footprint, rationalising our vehicle numbers and, where we must look at our people, our aim is to reduce numbers by not recruiting into non-operational vacancies.

The number of police vehicles will be assessed as part of the plans. Picture: Wiltshire Police

“No police station with a public front counter will be affected and we will be increasing the use of our mobile police stations and our attendance at local events to ensure our visibility within communities continues to increase.

“We will also be focusing on our procurement and collaboration arrangements and continuing to grip our operating efficiencies – such as overtime and day to day expenditure.

“Wiltshire Police is not an outlier in this situation- every police force in the country is facing significant financial challenges.”

She said Wiltshire Police was intending to continue ‘improving’ the service it provides, despite the funding challenges, through a three-year savings plan.

“I would like to reassure our communities that we remain committed to continuing to make significant improvements to our service – ensuring Wiltshire Police becomes one of the most effective and efficient forces in the country,” Chief Constable Roper added.

“We continue to work closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner to ensure the funding we receive is used effectively and efficiently to keep the public safe, reduce crime and deliver the Police and Crime Plan.”

People can have their say on the financial situation – and plans to address them – during a Facebook Live event on January 20. From 6.30pm, the chief will answer questions from the public, which can be submitted in advance via the Wiltshire Police Facebook page.