CONCERNS about travellers and frustrations with 101 calls were put to the Wiltshire police and crime commissioner by Stratton councillors.

Angus Macpherson boasted about 101 call response times in Wiltshire being ‘the fastest in the country’ when he visited a parish council meeting to discuss the state of policing in Stratton.

Mr Macpherson revealed new statistics from mid-September about 101 call times after Coun Joe Tray said: “People complain to me about being put off from reporting non-emergency calls on 101 because it takes so long to get through to someone.”

The PCC replied: “The initial response for 101 is five seconds. The wait time to be put through to someone after that is one-and-a-half minutes,

“In July 2017, it took five minutes and 45 seconds - that was a problem and it was unacceptable.

“I’d like it to be better than one-and-a-half minutes but that figure makes us practically the fastest in the country.”

Coun Barry Jennings said: “These statistics are fine but what we really need is the clear-up rate from these reports.

“People tell me ‘I didn’t bother reporting this petty crime because they won’t do anything, they won’t even send anyone out’, which concerns me.”

Mr Macpherson replied: “The importance of 101 is that crimes get reported because this information is used when we decide what to prioritise with our limited resources.

“Think of 101 as an intelligence line telling police what the problem is, because it doesn’t exist and won’t get prioritised if it isn’t reported.”

Coun Tim Page asked: “A lot of people have experienced problems with travellers who pitch up, stay for a few days and leave waste behind. Do the police ever check if their cars are insured?”

Mr Macpherson said: “The ANPR on our cars is always checking if vehicles are insured and, since Monday, also checks if they’re taxed.

“There is a strong relationship between people who don’t tax their cars and people who don’t comply with the law in more general terms.

“Police in Wiltshire go into travellers’ camps and treat them in the same way we treat the people of Stratton - they have rights, but with rights come responsibilities.

“There is a spectrum in the community between those who are very compliant and those who are not.”