I am sure that all of us, to some extent, are feeling anxious or concerned about coronavirus and the impact it is already having in our communities.

The police service – like all other public sector organisations – have been working relentlessly with partners for some time to prepare and plan for all possible scenarios.

This is a rapidly developing situation and we continue to work closely with the Government and Public Health England to make sure we have the very latest guidance and advice.

There are robust plans and procedures in place that ensure police forces, like other emergency services, can continue to provide critical functions in times of increased demand or if there are significant staffing capacity issues.

In addition to leading the force, I also chair the Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum which brings all key agencies together to ensure a coordinated approach to tackling the situation in our county.

The forum is made up of senior officials from both local authorities, health agencies and emergency services in addition to several others.

Our key objectives are to keep our communities safe, ensure service provision is as unaffected as possible and to keep you – the public – as informed as we can.

This is no mean feat and we rely on the thousands of dedicated officers, staff and volunteers from across all our organisations to help us achieve this.

It’s important to remember that every member of the emergency services here in Wiltshire are also members of your community – we share your worries, frustrations and have many of the same questions as you.

But, it is more important than ever that we all follow the guidance from the medical professionals and take personal responsibility for our actions.

We have a resilient and close-knit community here in Wiltshire and I know you will all pull together to help each other and those most vulnerable in our neighbourhoods.

At Wiltshire Police, we also find ourselves in the unique position of having worked through the two Novichok incidents in 2018 which enabled us to check and test the resilience of our workforce and also develop outstanding relationships with our local and regional public health colleagues.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank every one of my officers, members of police staff and volunteers who continue to impress me with their dedication and resolve.