Police chief: I want to cut crime (From Swindon Advertiser)

Police chief: I want to cut crime

10:55am Tuesday 20th May 2008 in

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"I WANT Wiltshire to be the safest county in the UK in terms of violent crime."

That's the bold assertion of the county's new police chief constable, who says this goal is at the top of his priorities.

Brian Moore was appointed chief constable for Wiltshire Police in January this year. Previously he was deputy chief constable in Surrey, and having joined the force in 1975, he has served with the Lancashire Constabulary as well as the Metropolitan Police.

At the time of his appointment, Mr Moore said: "Wiltshire Police is a force that is already on the way back up. It is very interesting for me as Wiltshire has long vied with Surrey for the position of the safest county in England.

"It is the firm intent of my new colleagues and myself to have this force back where it belongs as soon as we can."

But the new police chief has taken this a step further and this week announced his intention to see the force at the top of the tree when it comes to safety.

"There is no reason why Wiltshire cannot be the safest county for violent crime in the UK. You only have to speak to the victims of violent crime to understand how it has changed their lives. They are now scared to go out and I think that is awful and wrong.

"So I now want to go toe-to-toe with those violent thugs and win."

Mr Moore said that Wiltshire was currently ranked in the top 10 of the safest counties, but that it could cut violent crime significantly by the police working with local agencies.

He said: "It will be hard work to achieve the goal as the safest county for violence in the country, but it will be a great achievement."

Domestic abuse was one of the key areas, which Wiltshire Police would be targeting. It was vital people felt safe in their own homes and safe on the streets of the county, he added.

It was also about creating safer environments for people to live, and Mr Moore mentioned the prostitution issues in Swindon as another key target. "It is unacceptable," he said.

While the chief constable admitted he would have no extra money to push forward the changes, unless people were prepared to pay more from police authority precepts, he admitted that the police would have to be smarter in using their resources to tackle violent crime.

He called on local communities to get involved in the fight against crime and also in other initiatives to protect their communities such as community speed watch schemes and to recruit more special constables.