The new Chief Constable of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Scott Chilton, has admitted that confidence in policing has ‘taken a knock’ but has vowed to show members of the public that the force, under his stewardship, means business.
Chief Constable Chilton was announced as the replacement for the retiring Olivia Pinkney back in November 2022.
Now, just 2 weeks into his new role in charge of Hampshire & the Isle of Wight Constabulary, CC Chilton has spoken to Island Echo for the very first time to share his views on the current state of policing in the region.
The former Dorset Police chief has said that he has 3 aims that he wants to tackle during his tenure, including increasing officers in the local community, investigating crime properly and thoroughly, and improving trust and confidence in the police – as he admits it has ‘taken a knock’.
CC Chilton has told Island Echo:
“National issues have caused the public to lose some confidence in the police in recent times but we need to show them that we are here and that we mean business.
“We want to investigate crimes the best we can and bring support to victims and people involved in such incidents.”
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Island MP Bob Seely and Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones have recently been discussing the possibility of a blue-light hub that would see the co-location of the Island’s emergency services into 1 place.
However, this is seemingly against the wishes of the majority of the public who would like to see more Police stations on the Island, not fewer than the 2 we currently have.
To this, CC Chilton has said:
“Myself and Donna Jones will be reviewing the whole estate across the region to see what we can put in place. We hope to allocate more officers to the Island’s team and aim to focus on how local communities and police interact with one another.
“I’ve got ties to the Island and understand the issues that affect people here. I’m really passionate about the level of service that we can offer to the community.”
When questioned about the increase in crimes such as knife and anti-social behaviour, CC Chilton told Island Echo that he had spoken with Superintendent Rob Mitchell to gain more information as to the specific problems that the Island faces.
CC Chilton said:
“The Island is a predominantly safe place but we need to make people feel safe and this starts with neighbourhood policing that local people can trust from officers that they know”.
Yawn. I hope you achieve what you promise, but we have heard it all before
Any chance of a crackdown on the self appointed balaclava clad vigilantes that seem to think that they have the role of policing the countryside?
seeing as though the police won’t, someone has to keep the scumbag hunters in check
Someone needs to keep an eye on the scumbag hunters
Aren’t police scumbag hunters?
The Police need to work with the community, not against it. Most people only come in contact with the Police when they are out driving. The Police seem obsessed with speed traps? As the March 6th Echo reported: Despite popular belief that speed is a factor in most crashes, travelling too fast for the conditions contributed to just 17% of collisions.”
If only Police were to concentrate on the real problems on Island roads and not have their time wasted on endless calls for ‘speeding clampdowns’ by people who don’t understand what the real problem is, the Island could be a much safer place!
If you want to get the community on your side, start by sorting out the problems that cause the other 83% of accidents on the Island!
Wrong.
“Current reports suggest the biggest cause of road deaths is poor observation, with the second biggest cause being ‘loss of control’. Excess speed and driver carelessness come equal third. In future, instead of reporting causes from the scene of an accident, police forces are being told to adjust their reports to include all the analysis from post-accident investigations, which may often include forensic evidence of speeding. Under the new reporting scheme the police force found speeding should have been included as a contributory factor in almost half of all traffic accidents. In a review it revised its 2020 figure from 19.1 to 46.8 per cent, including cases where the driver exceeded the limit or simply drove too fast.”
S
You can’t deliver your promise when the Tories are dismantling the police force. We are still at 50% of the police we had five years ago.
Here we g again ONE HUB>.. stupid idea… We are already ( unwantingly) tied to the Mainland, being part of Hampshire, now thinking of ONE HUB… no doubt Newport.. Stupi8d idea. We need more police stations around the Island. Crime happens, Police be there quicker. Plus more officers would be seen..
STUPID STU*PID idea… But will the people get a vote ??? NO CHANCE…we just pay the taxes….
It just proves, people do not get a say. We can vote in whatever MP, but that does not matter, they change things to suit them, not the people.. We pay their wages, they do what they think is best for them..
Not one company in the world works like that. Except here. Almost the same as dictatorship…
Neighbourhood policing? Is that what you call sitting in a police van trapping people doing a few miles faster than they should? Pathetic.
We do not want “blue light hubs” we want an open police station in each town and police on the beat not driving round ignoring what is going on.
if you are looking for criminals, and people robbing the general public look no further than the big building opposite the police station.
Just say it. THE COUNCIL. But the crimes they commit go on deaf ears
lets see wot he does about the KNOWN SMACK dealing thats been going on years by the same people just because they grass on there hmm “friends” there free to ruin lives well if the police wont do something then .. does it mean its a free for all??
What would happen if we had a couple of rotten apples in the “blue hub barrel” the mind bogles
CC Chilton said We hope to allocate more officers to the Island’s team and aim to focus on how local communities and police interact with one another
Hope to … That’s not what the PCC said recently , !! Here we go .. Bob another strongly worded letter please ..
This is like groundhog day. Same rhetoric, different face. Public trust of the police at an all time low. Motorists hounded for slight speeding, crimes go unsolved, victims are left to their own devices. Years of tory cuts result in our current situation. If they are re-elected we are all screwed.