Following several visits by a concerned constituent to the MP surgeries held by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP across the Cotswolds, a meeting was held between the MP, Chris Nelson the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, Town Mayor Cllr Martin Tucker, and Mr Buckner the concerned constituent who raised this matter initially.   

The category 1 and 2 police times for Wotton-under-Edge were discussed, currently a Grade 1 999 call takes 24 minutes to respond to, with the Constabulary target being 15 minutes. With Category 2 calls, which are still important but not categorised as emergencies, the average wait in Wotton-under-Edge is 4 hours compared to the Constabulary average of about 2 hours.  

Chris Nelson admitted these times were not acceptable and said he would work with the Chief Constable to see how they could be reduced. In particular, he has agreed to provide monthly reports on police response times to the Town Council, these will be available for all Wotton residents to access to see if the situation is improving.  

The Chief Constable also outlined his plans for the enhanced police operational model which will come into effect on the 6 June. He said this should improve policing throughout the whole of Gloucestershire by anticipating demand and reducing excessive workloads on some officers.  

Commenting on the meeting, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said: 

“The current police waiting times for Wotton-under-Edge are completely unacceptable, but we had a productive meeting and I thank everyone for their work on improving this situation. The monthly reports which will be available to all residents will be a great way to mark progress and I thank my constituent Mr Buckner for raising this issue with me during one of my surgeries, which led to this positive meeting.”