The cuts to Wiltshire police’s budget are beginning to bite. Changes are being made to the siting of response teams and civilian employees have been laid off.
The eastern area commander, Inspector Ron Peach has told the Area Board that there are “No plans currently to dispense with Marlborough police station.” But he did warn that more changes and reorganisations driven by budget cuts will be coming sooner rather than later.
From next month the emergency response team covering our area will no longer be based in Devizes but in Swindon. The clustering of response teams is now an economic necessity.
And while civilian staff have been cut, the investment in new technology has gone ahead. Within a matter of weeks, Wiltshire police will have the use of a live mapping display to show controllers precisely where response teams, dog vans and armed response units are located or travelling.
Inspector Peach also revealed that the appointment of our area’s beat manager, Police Constable David Tippetts (left), who replaced PC Sarah Watts in early July this year, is only a temporary one. Inspector Peach hopes to be able to persuade PC Tippetts, who lives locally, to apply for the full-time post with the Rural West Team.