THE first ever Open Forum, organised by the Wiltshire Neighbourhood Watch Association, was held in the Warminster Civic Centre at the weekend.

‘Community Policing creating Safer Communities’ was the theme of the event, which took place on April 30 and was attended by local councillors, NHW representatives and residents.

Inspector James Brain and his community coordinators, PCs Mark Hough and Charly Chilton, gave a presentation on the changes in the Community Policing Team for the Warminster and Trowbridge area.

Mike Davidson, who chaired the Forum, said: “Considering it was held on a Bank Holiday Monday, the turnout was encouraging and we’re hoping to hold more forums in other towns around Wiltshire in the future.

“There was a wide spread of people from as far as Melksham and Tisbury and some interesting questions were asked in the Q&A session.

“It’s important that we take the message to the people of Wiltshire instead of expecting them to come to a distant place.”

Inspector Brain emphasised the increasing priority for dealing with cyber-crime and the protection of vulnerable people from violence and sexual abuse, saying that he recognised the challenges of keeping close links with the local communities, which remains the priority that the team is working through.

Mr Davidson said how important it is for the local communities to support the police and to help them by reporting all local crime, antisocial behaviour and suspicious events using 999 or 101.

The discussions finished with a talk about the Community Messaging system rolled out by the NHW Association and the police nearly two years ago.

Being a member of the NWC adds to the overall ethos of neighbours looking out for each other, according to the group's organisers.

For more information on the NWC, contact 01985 850549