Bournemouth South

Seasonal response

Location:
Bournemouth Beach

Describe the issue & its affects:
During the summer months, particularly hot weather, Bournemouth sees an increase of hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors to the beach.
Sadly, this can attract ASB, and criminal offences.

What action will you take to tackle the issue:
- We will dedicate patrols to the beach during hot periods
- Utilise dispersal notices and stop & search powers
- Work with beach services and other partners (such as CCTV, BTP and SWR) to identify offenders and bring them to justice

September Update:
Whilst the weather remains glorious, it brings about a great deal of demand on Bournemouth beach. In the last 30 days, we have conducted 7672 minutes of highly visible and proactive patrols. Known locally as Operation Show, the operation resulted in 50 dispersal notices, 5 arrests, 18 out-of-court disposals and 21 stop searches, with repeated evidence of early intervention preventing youth-related ASB and disorder in Bournemouth's coastal and town-centre areas.
Officers also provided significant safeguarding support, locating missing persons, protecting vulnerable individuals and responding to serious incidents when required.

August Update:
The team has continued to support hi-visibility patrols on Bournemouth beach, with up to 10 officers patrolling the beach, 7 days a week, between the hours of 10am and 9pm, often walking more than 20,000 steps. The unusually hot weather has meant this has been particularly important with increased visitors to Bournemouth from near and afar.

Some key numbers since the beginning of June:
- 83 section 35 dispersal notices issued (a power which allows us to remove people from a designated area for a specific time period)
- 103 cannisters of Nitrous Oxide seized
- 5 incidents involving the seizure of cannabis
- Over 100 bottles of alcohol seized under the BCP Public Spaces Protection Order
- 23 arrests for assault, drug offences, being drunk and disorderly, sexual assaults and a stabbing
- 27 Community Resolutions issued (low level offending such as possession of cannabis)
- 58 people stopped and searched

Whilst it is a shame that we have seen offending on the beach, the presence of our officers has meant that we have been able to respond quickly to incidents, to support victims, and arrest perpetrators promptly.

Our operation continues throughout summer till the end of August.

ASB street drinking & drug use

Location:
Purbeck Road, Bournemouth

Describe the issue & its affects:
Local residents have raised concerns regarding drug use and ASB in the Purbeck Road area of Bournemouth. This is causing harassment, alarm and distress for the local community.

What action will you take to tackle the issue:

High visibility patrols
Engagement with local businesses, educational establishments and residents
Utilisation of both civil and criminal legislation to target those committing offences

September Update:
We continue to carry out high-visibility patrols across the area, providing reassurance to residents, identifying vulnerability, and proactively tackling anti-social behaviour and criminality.
Key activity included:
- Cuckooing and Vulnerability Checks: Officers conducted regular cuckooing checks on vulnerable residents. This included supporting one male who had effectively been displaced from his own address due to the influence and presence of others within the property. Ongoing engagement and safeguarding measures were implemented to help him regain control of his home.
- High-Visibility Patrols: Frequent high-visibility foot patrols were carried out in identified hotspot locations to deter anti-social behaviour, engage with the community, gather intelligence, and provide reassurance to residents and businesses.
- Support to Local Landlords: The team continue to work closely with a local landlord throughout an eviction process linked to ongoing community concerns.

August Update:
- Officers have continued to conduct cuckoo checks (The most common form of cuckooing is where drug dealers take control of the victim’s home and use the premises to store, prepare or distribute drugs). During one of these checks individuals were located with suspected stolen property, which was seized. The investigation is ongoing.
- We continue to work with the landlord of a specific premises causing regular ASB to the community.

July Update: This priority is ongoing as we continue towards improving the issues.

June Update:
We continue to patrol this location on a regular basis. We are also working with the landlord of one specific property to drive down ASB caused by the resident.

On 14th May officers observed some suspicious activity by two individuals in Purbeck Road. Some swift action resulted in them attending a local address, where a third individual was located. A quantity of drugs was located in the address, and all 3 individuals arrested for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. All three remain under investigation for the matter. We will continue to pursue those bringing illegal drugs in to the community.

May update:
We continue to patrol this on a regular basis. In the last 90 days, we have conducted 88 patrols in that hotspot, with nearly 2700 minutes of patrols. We have been able to self deploy to incidents of ASB, arrested 3 people, seized a knife and submitted intelligence. We also continue to engage with partners such as BCP ASB team to address specific addresses causes the most harm to the community.

Youth related ASB

ASB, street drinking & drug use

Location:
Bournemouth Town Centre

Describe the issue & its affects:
We have seen an increase in youth related ASB, with reports of young people entering derelict buildings, often known as urban exploring. This causes both ASB to local residents, but more importantly, often causes a risk to those taking part, as buildings can be unsafe.

What action will you take to tackle the issue:
- We will identify offenders and work with youth services to educate those causing harm.
- Work with ASB and youth services utilising the consequence schemes.
- Work with landlords to provide additional security

September Update:
Unfortunately, this remains an ongoing issue. We ask residents to continue reporting incidents to us. If you are able to safely obtain photographs or footage of those involved, without putting yourself at risk, please share this information with Dorset Police as it can assist us in identifying offenders and taking appropriate action.

"Urban exploring" remains a significant concern due to the serious risks involved. Many abandoned buildings are structurally unsafe, and those entering them can place themselves at risk by accessing unstable areas and dangerous heights. We would encourage parents and guardians to speak with their children about these risks and help us discourage this activity, reducing the likelihood of someone being seriously injured.
To address this issue, the Neighbourhood Policing Team has been:
- Working with partner agencies to identify those responsible and utilise appropriate legislation and interventions to prevent repeat offending.
- Conducting regular high-visibility patrols in affected areas to deter this behaviour and provide reassurance to local residents.
- Raising concerns with landlords and property owners so they can review and improve security measures, making it more difficult to gain unauthorised access.

August Update:
- We have identified several youths entering derelict buildings. Details have been shared with BCP Council Youth Services, and consequence scheme issued. These are early interventions to try and prevent re-offending.
- We have worked with partners to look at preventative actions such as anti-climb paint being utilised to make it harder for people to gain entry.

If you observe any such behaviour, and have any CCTV or mobile phone footage, we can utilise this to identify perpetrators. Please contact Dorset Police utilising the online portal quoting reference number 55250159473.