Wiltshire Police relentlessly mocked for Twitter poll asking where they should patrol

Wiltshire Police were slammed by irate residents who claimed it tipped off criminals as to where officers would be.

John Miller, 71, from Ramsbury, near Marlborough, said: "What a stupid idea – you can almost imagine the criminals voting en masse, hoping to place enough votes to send the police to patrol one area so they can clean up somewhere else."

Wiltshire is a largely rural council, although it does have major urban areas such as Salisbury, scene of the Russian poison 'hit' earlier this year, and Swindon, where 'county lines' drug runners operate.

Despite this, Wiltshire Police used Twitter to ask residents: "Now where would you like us to patrol today?"

The village of Great Bedwyn was picked as the winner, with the force posting: "Great Bedwyn got the vote! Quick pit stop to refuel and we'll head there!"

The angry residents responded by telling officers to "stop playing silly games".

One user wrote: "Wow, a poll to see where to patrol ? What next – a lucky dip to see who to arrest!"

Another user said: "So the criminals will be hitting Worton and Aldbourne later then."

One Twitter user said: "What next, a poll on what crimes to investigate or suspects to charge? They could patrol by drone. What could possibly go wrong?"

And another user said: "Is this a joke? If it is it's not very funny @wiltshirepolice If it's serious you need to think about the message it sends out."

Wiltshire Police later shared pictures from patrols around the villages where they posed next to dogs, ducks and flowerpots.

A final tweet showed a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits with the caption: "Final scores on the doors – 18,000 steps walked. 100 miles driven."

The force posted in response to the angry criticisms: "Not meant as a joke. We continually patrol rural areas. We are promoting our work and engaging with the communities."

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