My 6 Point Plan:
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To make the first priority to cut crime and anti-social behaviour.
I know anti-social behaviour (ASB) remains a concern for Dorset residents. I ensured Operation Relentless was introduced which made ASB a priority for Dorset Police. Together with their greater visibility and good partnership working this has meant a 25% reduction in ASB across Dorset. We can do even better and I will increase foot patrols in hotspot areas and continue to support local initiatives through Operation Relentless Community Grant Funding which has already helped 31 communities across Dorset. I will also continue the Fix The Future Grant funding to help stop our young people falling into crime. I held Dorset Police to account for investigating burglary and with new resources they have been able to cut dwelling burglary by 24%. To make our roads safer I have also invested in Police Interceptor Cars, supported Community Speed Watch and piloted two schemes with Vivid Speed Reduction Signs and Auto Speed Watch - both I intend to roll out across the county.
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To make policing more visible to prevent crime.
More police officers now work in our neighbourhoods than before I took office and they are becoming more visible. There are 174 new officers and the majority work directly in our communities. We have new specialist teams such as the Neighbourhood Enforcement Teams and Missing Person Teams to augment our existing Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Response Teams. There are now 72 contact points which did not exist before where the public can meet with their local officers and I have started to reopen front offices (police stations) again. Response to 999 calls are 10% faster since I asked for a review. Both 999 and 101 call response times have improved and there are now a new button for intelligence on the Police website. These will improve further and I will also continue to reopen front offices and invest in a mobile police station to bring Dorset Police even closer to the communities they serve.
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To fight organised and violent crime.
Three things are needed to address the issue of illegal drugs and their criminality – tough enforcement, effective treatment and impactful education. I pushed for strong measures and we now have the highly successful Operation Scorpion and Operation Viper which have cut County Lines by 45%, arrested more dealers and reduced the number of repeat offenders. Next I want to address the street dealing which I know blights communities. I will also continue the work of the Combatting Drug Partnership to drive for more effective treatment and to support more prevention initiatives. Knowing the pain and harm drugs bring to individuals and communities I will continue being tough on drug dealers and the criminality they bring to Dorset. Similar work is tackling knife crime and violence against women and girls.
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To fight rural crime.
I championed an increase in the rural crime team of 500%. This meant they were able to tackle organized crime groups recovering over £1million pounds and cutting the cost of rural crime in Dorset by 28%. I have introduced new initiatives such as the Dorset Partnership Against Rural Crime, Rural Mounted Volunteers and Country Watch that have all made our countryside safer. We have increased and trained more officers to address wildlife and heritage crime. Poaching is down 20% and hare coursing is also reduced. With your support I will go further and increase resources to ensure that Dorset is further able to tackle travelling criminals and protect the countryside we know and love.
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To put victims and communities first.
I have supported all victims - particularly the elderly and vulnerable - and built community strength by working together with councils and agencies - supporting volunteers such as Neighbourhood Watch, Community Speedwatch, and increasing opportunities for the young with initiatives like Police Cadets. There was only one area with police cadets before I took office - we now have 4 with a 5th on the way. I have also held the police to account for their use of stop and search, use of force and complaint handling. One area that particularly affects our communities is Shoplifting. A blight on our communities and I am determined to reduce it. I have had personal experience of having chased three shoplifters on different occasions last year. It is now more organized and has increased. 70% of it is driven by addiction. To counter this I started The Safer Dorset Business Partnership which means Dorset Police now have a strategy, a tactical plan and an operation called Operation Shopkeeper to arrest prolific shoplifters. This is now making significant arrests. I have also supported the Business Improvement Districts to create a Business Crime Reduction Partnership. I am also funding an information sharing system to increase prosecutions. My promise to you is that I will cut shoplifting if re-elected as PCC.
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To make every penny count for the needs of the people of Dorset.
I promised to resource and transform the front-line and reduce administration so patrol and response teams can spend more time out on the beat. This is now happening through technology such as PRONTO which allows them to do a lot of their work away from the office. With our MPs I have lobbied for a fairer deal for Dorset and when it changes the National Funding Formula will reflect sparsity ie the fact we have a rural county and seasonality (currently we get not a penny for the tourists which require policing in the summer) - this will be a win for Dorset. I with the PCC for Devon and Cornwall put in place performance metrics for the Strategic Alliance leading to decisions being made to decouple where it is not working eg firearms which have been brought back to Dorset. I have also gained over £4 million to help police and crime issues in Dorset including two special grants to support community policing in light of the accommodation barge and exceptional summer demand. I will continue lobbying if re-elected to ensure every penny counts for Dorset.
