'We can't afford to fill the gaps': Wiltshire's new Chief Constable speaks out over challenges to the force

Last month Kier Pritchard became one of the youngest police chiefs in the country. The 44-year-old, who began his policing career in Swindon 25-years-ago, was confirmed by the Wiltshire Police and Crime Panel as the county’s permanent chief constable.

In his first newspaper interview since his confirmation hearing on November 30, Mr Pritchard spoke of the challenges facing his force.

He said: “Policing is under greater strain than I’ve ever known in my service. The demands are going through roof, with some of the modern threats we are dealing with, ranging from counter terrorism to modern slavery and hidden exploitation in our communities.

“But the public quite rightly expect us to maintain the visible presence in our communities. I need to balance both.”

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He added: “With the stretch in demand, we can ill-afford to pick up the pieces from other partners that have had to retrench in order to deliver their core business.

“With the resource levels I have and the challenges I’m facing, I cannot afford for Wiltshire Police to be the first call for other partners’ business.”

The force has never been under greater pressure, with a huge growth in the number of 999 and 101 calls received by Wiltshire Police’s control centre in Devizes. In the last 12 months, there has been around a 90 per cent growth in emergency calls, meaning on average an extra 42 calls every day.

And officers’ jobs are becoming more complex. Detectives are coming up against more sophisticated criminals, using computers and the internet to perpetrate and hide their crimes. The growth of county lines drug gangs has seen kingpins from London and Birmingham muscling in on Swindon’s trade in heroin and crack cocaine. Police are linking them to knife crimes on the town’s streets.

Set against this is a picture of low policing budgets and funding cuts to councils and NHS trusts responsible for social services and supporting mental health patients.

Mr Pritchard said: “As a force, we are £20 per person shorter than other forces across the country. That is a significant underfunding. I need to make sure the funding and the resources we have available are as efficient as we can be.”

The force was coping with the extra demand, but an ever increasing number of calls meant it would struggle to develop new ways of working.

To that end, much of the focus for the police has been on early intervention. Officers based at Gablecross Police Station in Swindon are mentoring more than 100 children believed to be at risk of falling into a life of crime. And in Penhill and Pinehurst, where residents have complained of a recent spike in gang-related anti-social behaviour, the police are working closely with councillors and Swindon Borough Council to try and tackle problems.

Mr Pritchard said the force was also looking at different ways of attracting the brightest and best to the county. With the rise of the gig economy, where people took short term contracts or freelance jobs, the chief constable said he needed to “recognise there may be people who do not want to spend 30 years in policing”.

The force was not currently suffering a recruitment crisis, with on average 450 applicants for each constable role. But in the future, police bosses could employ staff members on shorter term contracts, working on specialist areas like cyber crime. “I know the younger generation wants something very different from their employer. I want to make sure we embrace it.”