Wiltshire Police opened their first Community Policing Shop in the centre of Swindon this morning at Canal Walk in the Brunel Centre.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, said: “In this Community Policing Shop we are working with a number of partners who can provide help and advice on a wide range of subjects around home security and crime prevention.

“As policing is not the sole responsibility of the Police our multi-agency approach will help people save time when making a report by helping them know who to turn to in any particular circumstance.”

“If the project is successful we will consider undertaking similar short-term schemes in the future.

“The Swindon South Community Policing team and partners have a number of exciting events planned over the next five weeks and I would encourage anyone visiting the town centre to call in.”

A/Inspector David Tippetts Community Policing Team Inspector for South Swindon said:
“The shop will provide a temporary presence in the town centre so the public can meet members of the community policing team and ask for advice first hand and discuss concerns.

“We are keen to promote greater understanding of the way we work and offer reassurance to the public that Swindon and Wiltshire is still a very safe place to live. Today we had 67 visitors after the opening event who were able to talk with us and our partners from Turning Point and the Bobby Van Trust.

The shop will be open to the public 10am – 2.00pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday for the next 5 weeks until Saturday 22 December. Officers and PCSOs will be covering a number of themed topics linking to wider campaigns:

  • w/c 19/11 Alcohol Awareness Week
  • 23/11 Black Friday – cybercrime prevention advice
  • 24/11 Bike marking
  • w/c 25/11 White Ribbon Week – domestic abuse
  • 1/12 National Christmas Drink Drug Driving campaign launches and runs through to early January 2019
  • 1/12 Bike marking
  • 3/12 – 24/12 Swindon CPTs launch Operation Dasher: Christmas shopping, home security, personal safety, night time economy, One Punch,

The shop has been made available, without cost to Wiltshire Police, thanks to the generosity of the Brunel Centre and support from InSwindon.

Location: The Brunel Centre, Canal Walk, Swindon (opposite Starbucks)