Officers come under fire for asking Twitter where to patrol

A POLICE force has been criticised for asking the public to vote on which village they should patrol, by using a poll on Twitter.

Wiltshire Police has been accused of signposting where criminals should target after announcing on social media that it would send officers to patrol one of three villages.

It posted: “Which village would you like us to patrol later today?”, giving the options of Aldbourne, Great Bedwyn and Worton.

Great Bedwyn was picked as the winner. The force wrote: “Great Bedwyn got the vote! Quick pit stop to refuel and we’ll head there!”

The Twitter account posted pictures from the village, writing: “As promised, a foot patrol of Great Bedwyn! Had a chat to some residents and bumped into Daisy the dog.”

Followers of the account were quick to criticise. Steve Johnson wrote: “A poll to see where to patrol? What next, a lucky dip to see who to arrest!”

Another, Gary Lawrence, asked: “Is this a joke? You need to think about the message it sends out. What next, a poll on what crimes to investigate?”

The force replied: “Not meant as a joke. We continually patrol rural areas. We are promoting our work and engaging with the communities.”

The Sunday Telegraph has contacted Wiltshire Police for further comment.

Many pointed to budget cuts as a reason for police having to ask the public where to patrol. Cuts to police budgets have led to a reduction of 20,000 officers since 2010.