Researchers gathering opinions on behalf of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, started a new phase of a large-scale phone survey today.

Around 2,000 householders across the Wiltshire Police area will be getting a call in the coming weeks. A similar number of people were contacted between October and December last year.

Mr Macpherson said: “The law says I must gather the views of people about the way your area is policed.

“The survey will also explore issues such as quality of life and fear of crime.

“The information helps me to commission services from Wiltshire Police and helps senior police officers to understand the needs and priorities of the people they protect.

“So my message is that, if you get a call, please remember that your view counts.

“I will continue to commission these surveys each year so that we have reliable, up-to-date information.

“The data will be shared with Wiltshire Police because it will contain important insights into the levels of confidence that people have in their Neighbourhood Policing Team.”

Chief Supt Paul Mills, head of local policing, said: “This is a great opportunity for communities in Wiltshire and Swindon to feed back to the police about the service they receive.”

The research is being conducted by a company called Information by Design and the questions should take about 15 minutes to answer.

If you get a call and have any concerns about the validity of the caller, please call 101, the non-emergency number for Wiltshire Police, and ask for Ruth McGee on extension 2396.