WILTSHIRE Police have said there is still more to be done to improve diversity, despite good recent progress.

Responding to a report from the UK's top police chiefs last week, the Force said making policing more representative of its communities remains a top priority.

Last Friday (October 12), The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) issued a number of recommendations for all police forces, including all senior police leaders to be formally assessed on their efforts to improve diversity within their operational command.

In Wiltshire this is already in place, with the Deputy Chief Constable leading diversity across the Force and good progress has been made in recent years.

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said: “We really welcome the direction set nationally.

"I’m pleased to say diversity is already a key focus for us here in Wiltshire and the approach we are taking mirrors the national guidance.

“We want to reach out to communities and give them a voice to feedback what matters most to them in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion in local policing.”

Wiltshire Police employs just over 2,000 officers and staff, with a ratio of almost 50:50 men to women.

In Police Staff roles, women outweigh males by a ratio of 60:40.

In the last 10 years, the proportion of female Police Officers rose from 28 per cent in 2008 to 37 per cent in 2018.

The number of black and minority ethnic (BAME ) police officers has grown at a slower rate, with currently 19 police officers (1.8 per cent) from ethnic minorities, although this still represents a 20 per cent increase in the last 12 months.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson said: "My role is to be the voice of the people when it comes to policing and we have some way to go before Wiltshire Police can claim truly to be representative of the communities they are here to serve.

“But there are signs of progress".

The online public consultation on the Force’s new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy runs for six weeks at www.wiltshire.police.uk.