Dorset Police 2024

Our staff and officers continue to work relentlessly to respond to calls to service, being tough on crime, putting victims first and keeping people safe.

Over the course of 2023 our contact management team answered 144,000 calls to our 999 service, 150,000 calls to our 101 service and dealt with 25,000 online crime and intelligence reports. This was in addition to 4,500 people who visited our enquiry offices. Here are just some of our successes and highlights that relate to our six Force priorities.

Relentless pursuit of criminality

Operation Scorpion

Force continues to collaborate with regional partners and Police and Crime Commissioners as part of Operation Scorpion in a bid to combat drug supply in the region creating a ring of steel around the South West. The seventh iteration took place in March and saw more than £800,000 worth of drugs and 267 weapons taken off the streets. Operation Scorpion focuses on pooling resources to dismantle drug supply networks and an inhospitable environment for criminals.

The Interceptor Team

The Interceptor Team tackle criminals using such as county lines drug dealing, human crime. The team carry out proactive stops intelligence that they are involved in criminality; Operation Dragoon targets – to ensure the our roads policing team and well-known No The Interceptor Team tackle criminals using our road network who are involved in crimes, such as county lines drug dealing, human trafficking, modern slavery, burglary and vehicle crime. The team carry out proactive stops of vehicles from out of county where we receive intelligence that they are involved in criminality; and target high-risk road users – known as Operation Dragoon targets – to ensure the roads are safe for all, complementing the work of our roads policing team and well-known No Excuse initiative.

Neighbourhood Enforcement Teams (NETs)

Our Neighbourhood Enforcement Teams (NETs) provide a proactive functionality to focus on serious acquisitive crime, county line drug dealing and high harm/prolific offenders. They work across borders to target offenders by creating a hostile environment for those committing and seeking to commit crime and by reducing vulnerability. Working with established Neighbourhood Teams, the NETs also provide support across the neighbourhoods to tackle specific complex issues that require additional targeted resources and support local community priorities, including anti-social behaviour, hotspot patrols and enforcement activity.

Putting victims first

Rape and Serious Sexual Offenses (RASSO)

Dorset Police was one of 14 forces that took part in detailed self-assessment of its practices and performance in respect of RASSO investigation as part of Operation Soteria. This  earning fed into earlier deep dive research and assessments undertaken by researchers on four pathfinder forces, from which the RASSO National Operating Model was created and is now being implemented across England and Wales to improve outcomes for victims. Key aims include an investigative approach that focuses on the alleged offence and all elements of the suspects behaviour, to identify and disrupt repeat offenders, improve victim engagement throughout the criminal justice practice, improve learning and wellbeing support for investigators and enhance strategic analysis of RASSO crime and investigation performance.

Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH)

Our Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH) see officers work alongside partner agencies so they can carry out early intervention to safeguard children. They hold an average of 2,012 strategy discussions with partner agencies a year to share information, as well as sharing information about an additional 1,400 children/families. Policing generates approximately 32,500 Public Protection Notices a year, all of which are reviewed in the MASH, with the majority shared with partner agencies so together we can safeguard children, vulnerable adults and victims of domestic abuse. In addition to the MASH, the Force also has a Safeguarding Hub in both BCP and County Local Policing Areas that investigate and safeguard children from extra-familial harm and exploitation.

In 2023 our dedicated Paedophile Online Investigation Team investigated 245 referrals regarding the possession and sharing of indecent images of children and has a 42 per cent positive outcome rate for successful prosecutions.

The Child Abuse Investigation Team carry out around 500 investigations a year, offering bespoke support to victims and their families.

Victims’ Code

The Victims’ Code came into effect in 2006 and was later refreshed in April 2021, focusing on how and when police officers and staff should communicate with victims to help them feel supported. The Code, enshrined within 12 rights, sets out the services and minimum standards that must be provided to victims of crime and the timeframe in which they must do it. It also explains the rights that everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime. Whoever they are and whatever the crime, they have the right to be informed about the criminal justice process and the support available.

Exceptional local policing

Rural Crime Team

The Rural Crime Team (RCT) deliver a dedicated response to support the rural and isolated communities in Dorset. They work with partners and neighbouring forces to address crimes that affect rural areas. Using the rural crime engagement van, the team are visible in rural communities which improves our relationship with the public and encourages intelligence reporting. They work strategically, implementing tactics to prevent, disrupt and deter criminal activity in rural areas of Dorset. In 2023, the RCT was recognised by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, winning an award for ‘most innovative  partnership to tackle serious and organised acquisitive crime’.

Missing Persons Team

Thanks to Uplift resources, the Force has been able to create three Missing Person Teams based in Dorchester, Bournemouth and Poole who, working with uniformed colleagues across the Force, helped to locate 4,392 missing people in 2023. All sergeants and police constables within these teams have been trained as Initial Missing Person Search Advisors and they have the support of Police Search Advisors and the Strategic Missing Person Co-ordinator. The team has a proactive capability able to deploy and deal with live missing episodes and is also supported by a back-office team conducting desk-based enquiries to ensure intelligence-led work leads to swifter resolution. They provide a dedicated investigation capability to locate missing persons, support their families and friends, and prevent recurrences of missing episodes.

Bournemouth Town Team

In August 2023 the Force introduced the Bournemouth Town Team, which is a dedicated team of neighbourhood officers who work alongside colleagues at BCP Council and other agencies to tackle criminality and engage with residents, visitors and businesses. The work of the team starts with early morning welfare checks with St Mungo’s, daytime patrols and community engagement and goes through into supporting the night time economy businesses with a 24/7 CCTV service, enhanced police presence and initiatives like the safe bus, where people can go for support. Their work is complimented by a range of other operations and initiatives underway to target ASB, serious violence and knife crime including Operation Nightjar and Operation Fireglow.

Ethical and inclusive

Positive Action Team

We aim to build our workforce so that it reflects the rich diversity and complexities of our communities by attracting the best talent from the widest pool of people. Positive Action is a range of measures and initiatives that we can lawfully take to actively encourage people from communities that are under-represented to bring their talent, experiences and expertise to our organisation when applying to join us. Our Positive Action Team offer support and advice to all underrepresented groups, in particular women, people who are Black, Asian or of ethnic heritage and people with disabilities and neurodiversity. The Uplift programme provided us with a fantastic opportunity to increase diversity and we saw an increase in officers identifying as white non-British by 11 from 16 to 27, a rise in officers identifying as Black, Asian, or ethnically diverse by 19 from 20 to 39 and our number of female officers increased from 382 to 472.

Stop and Search Scrutiny Panels

Our Stop and Search Scrutiny Panels are made up of members of the public who are representative of the local community and are the perfect opportunity to provide us with honest feedback in how we are using our stop and search
and use of force powers

Our Charter

Acting ethically and inclusively is a key ethos within Dorset Police and sits firmly at the centre of our EDI Strategy and our Ethical and Inclusive Leadership Training. In February 2023, the Force launched its Call it Out campaign and charter to reinforce the message that it is everyone’s responsibility to call out unacceptable behaviour and remind colleagues of the various methods in which this can be done. The charter sets out how we as a police force intend to end prejudice and unacceptable behaviours and is something we all need to commit to.

Innovating, transforming and improving

Enhanced Video Contact

By utilising existing and embedded technologies, we have succeeded in utilising GoodSAM to conduct 1,677 remote Enhanced Video Contact consultations with members of the public, allowing them to speak directly with an officer or member of police staff over a live streaming platform, meaning they can be supported at an earlier stage.

Innovation Hub

The Innovation Hub has continued to support the implementation of a number of innovative solutions to develop better ways of working for officers and staff, including an extendable camera system for firearms officers, making searching of hard-to-reach places more efficient, safe and practical and Crime Lite Auto, which enables CSIs to identify bodily fluids and gunshot residue that is not immediately visible to the naked eye.

PRONTO

The implementation of PRONTO, a mobile data solution developed by Motorola for the digitisation of processes and paperwork, has transformed the way frontline officers work. It was utilised by officers and staff 661,555 times over the course of 2023 allowing them to remain visible in the community whilst completing essential paperwork.

Empowering people to deliver excellence

Project Evolve

Via Project Evolve we are bringing together a number of areas of work with the common aims of continuing to improve our service by putting the public first, ensuring we spend every penny of public money wisely and making it easier for our officers and staff to do an even better job. Spanning all the areas of Project Evolve is cost challenge where we are required to find ongoing cost savings to ensure the Force is able to deliver a balanced budget each year.

Health and wellbeing offering

As part of our comprehensive health and wellbeing offering, the Force has carried out targeted work with groups identified at high risk of stress and negative health impacts. This has included a face-to-face wellbeing day for all response and NPT officers tackling areas such as shift working and nutrition. Work has also been undertaken with inspectors in relation to a targeted programme utilising face-to-face input, action learning sets and heart rate variability monitors. This work has been extended to Superintendent and Chief Officer ranks and links the Force’s current operating environment, the applicant’s personal genetics as they respond to the demands of policing, a GP assessed  comprehensive blood profile and a body composition and cell health assessment. These key components provide an insight into how the applicant’s body is currently functioning and is reviewed by expert geneticists and nutritionists, who will guide individuals through improving their own personal health protocol to increase resilience and wellbeing. This will be followed by a three-month recheck to assess progress and education and group coaching based on the latest published research in health and longevity.

Empty Chair

We introduced the Empty Chair initiative into strategic meetings to allow us to bring an employees’ perspective into the room when we are discussing high-level matters and to develop ways to reach and motivate our people. Attendees come from a range of officer and staff roles and they are provided with the papers for the meeting at the same time as other attendees. The attendance of the Empty Chairs is not simply one of observation, but for colleagues to have a voice, provide feedback and offer any views.