If you complain about Wiltshire Police and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 26.2% of 61 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 14th highest of 43 forces and 1.7 points above the national figure of 24.5%. Wiltshire Police recorded 7,319 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2026-07, and 63.0% ended in no further action.
Share a fact about Wiltshire Police
Of 458 recorded Taser uses by Wiltshire Police, 11.8% were actually discharged. The rest were drawing, aiming or red-dotting.
Source: Home Office use of force statistics, 2024/25. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
Complaints about Wiltshire Police
| Complaint cases logged | 1,331 |
|---|---|
| Employees | 2,578 |
| Cases per 1,000 employees | 516.3 (7th of 44) |
| Review applications to the local policing body | 36 |
| Review applications to the IOPC | 27 |
Where reviews found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate
| Route | Reviews completed | Outcome overturned | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local policing body, complaint not investigated | 30 | 6 | 20.0% |
Stop and search by Wiltshire Police
| Searches recorded | 7,319 |
|---|---|
| Period | 2023-07 to 2026-07 |
| Months of data | 37 of 36 |
| Ended in no further action | 63.0% |
| More than outer clothing removed | 174 |
What Wiltshire Police searched people for
| Stated object of search | Searches |
|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 4,228 |
| Offensive weapons | 1,346 |
| Stolen goods | 884 |
| Article for use in theft | 196 |
| Articles for use in criminal damage | 188 |
Who Wiltshire Police searched
| Officer-defined ethnicity | Searches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 4,957 | 82.2% |
| Black | 643 | 10.7% |
| Asian | 372 | 6.2% |
| Other | 58 | 1.0% |
Calculated over the 6,030 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 82.4% of all searches by this force.
Compared with who lives in the Wiltshire Police area
| Ethnic group | Share of searches | Share of residents | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 10.6% | 1.6% | 6.6x |
| Asian | 6.1% | 5.1% | 1.2x |
| Other | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.1x |
| White | 82.3% | 90.3% | 0.9x |
Use of force by Wiltshire Police
| Year | Use of force reports | Relative volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 2,253 | |
| 2021/22 | 2,518 | |
| 2022/23 | 2,297 | |
| 2023/24 | 4,422 | |
| 2024/25 | 8,440 |
Recorded use of force by Wiltshire Police has risen 274.6% since 2020/21. Nationally the total rose 39.4% over the same period, so this force is rising faster than the national trend.
Taser use
| Total recorded Taser uses | 458 |
|---|---|
| Of which discharged | 54 |
| Share actually discharged | 11.8% |
Most recorded Taser use is drawing, aiming or red-dotting rather than firing. The share actually discharged is the figure worth knowing.
Complaining to Wiltshire Police
Complaints go to the force first. Use its own official channel so the complaint is recorded properly and you get written confirmation.
- Wiltshire Police official website
- Telephone: 101
What you can do about it
Complaining to a force and bringing a claim against it are different processes with different outcomes. Reviews overturn the force's own finding in roughly a quarter of cases nationally, which makes the review stage worth understanding before you use it.
Wiltshire Police in the news
The five most recent reports mentioning this force, collected automatically. Headlines and links belong to the publishers named. We do not edit, summarise or endorse them, and inclusion here does not imply any finding against anyone.
- Fears about 'teenagers using High Street as a racetrack'
- People in south Wiltshire urged to take extra care after series of burglaries
- Shocking moment criminal hits stolen car on kerb and flies into air during 100mph police chase
- Police issue warning to households in Salisbury and surrounds after spate of burglaries
- 'Horrendous crime' - Residents urged to secure homes after spate of burglaries
- Independent Office for Police Conduct, police complaints statistics for England and Wales, 2024/25.
- data.police.uk stop and search API, 2023-07 to 2026-07. Accessed 2026-09-12.
- Home Office police use of force statistics, England and Wales, 2024/25.
Data last refreshed , covering 2023-07 to 2026-07. Every figure on this page is recomputed from the source datasets, not edited by hand. Found something wrong? Tell us.