Wiltshire Police is launching its biggest ever consultation to understand what women and girls think the force should be doing to make them safer.
The main message the police are promoting is that they are "listening" to the community as part of their strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.
As well as starting this conversation, Wiltshire Police have promised to focus on looking at their own culture to root out and challenge sexism and misogyny.
These announcements come after a turbulent couple of years for the police nationally.
High Court judges ruled last week that the Metropolitan Police had breached the rights of the Sarah Everard vigil organisers with their handling of the event.
And earlier this year, an investigation found Metropolitan Police officers had exchanged sexist, homophobic and racist messages, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. A number of messages joking about rape were sent by officers.
Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard on March 3, 2021.
Wiltshire Police described last year as a "watershed" moment for society and policing.
Detective Chief Inspector Gemma Vinton, who is leading this work for Wiltshire Police, said: “It has become clear in the last 18 months that police forces across the country need to be doing much more to listen to the views and concerns of women and girls within our communities.
“We also want to reach out to those who have no trust in policing to understand why this is and what we can do to change this.
“This really is your chance to be heard and I would urge you to take the time to complete the survey and play a significant role in shaping how we police incidents of violence against women and girls and scrutinise our performance going forward.”
Detective Superintendent Sarah Robbins, who is leading the response to Violence against Women and Girls, added: “We have made some important strides forward in recent years in trying to make women and girls across Wiltshire feel safer within our communities.
“That really starts at home and making sure we have a culture within Wiltshire Police to challenge sexist behaviour and maintain the highest standards we expect of our officers and staff.
“The last 18 months have been a mirror moment for many of us in policing – we must ensure we practice what we preach and make it clear what is not acceptable.
“We will be using your feedback to shape our local response to the national work being undertaken, which is why it is so important that if you have concerns, you take this time to complete the survey and have your voice heard."
Wiltshire Police has already introduced perpetrator-focused operations like Project Vigilant and its officer verification process.
Project Vigilant was launched to keep women and girls safe at night by targeting perpetrator behaviours which are often shown before a sexual offence takes place includingg harassment, loitering without reason and stalking behaviour.
The officer verification process allows the public to check that the officer is legitimate and on duty.
A national framework has now been adopted by all forces to ensure women and girls receive a better and more consistent service.
To take part in the survey, follow this link: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=zylXTi2FEEWSElEVfKJ-Pq0TElqQ1KZLnBbSmUVDPphUQlFQRjRRNERGRFRHQUVNRjY0WjVKQk5aVSQlQCN0PWcu
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