Dorset Police

Overview

In a typical day Dorset Police face (based on December 2006 figures):

• 533 calls for assistance from the public
• 260 - 999 calls
• 56 cases referred to the Crown Prosecution Service
• 172 crimes recorded
• 46 crimes detected
• 101 anti-social behaviour incidents recorded
• 33 people arrested for notifiable offences
• 20 people and vehicle searches
• 3 drug offence arrests
• 19 road traffic collisions attended
• 23 breath tests administered
• 17,516 miles (28,189 km) travelled in Police vehicles

Criminal Investigation Department

CID is based at Dorset's divisional headquarters in Bournemouth & Weymouth, and provides advice to all policing units on crime-related matters and maintaining a corporate approach to reducing crime, as well as providing specialist and investigative roles. The department is split into numerous sub-departments, which include but are not restricted to, Child Abuse Investigation Teams, Volume Crime Teams, Priority Crime Teams, Financial Investigation Units, Major Crimes Investigation Teams and Serious Sexual Offences.^[5]

Roads Policing Unit

Dorset Police is responsible for policing sections of 14 'A' roads including A338, A35, A350, A354 and A37. There are no motorways located within Dorset.

Dorset Police have a total of ~450 vehicles, from 20 different manufacturers, and drive a total of 7.5 million miles a year.^[6][7]

Ports Policing Unit

The Dorset Police Ports Policing Unit is responsible for policing all designated and non-designated ports in Dorset, making sure that legislation is followed, particularly the Terrorism Act 2000. It also obtains any intelligence on smuggling and contraband. Ports in Dorset include Poole Harbour, Swanage Harbour, Portland Harbour, Weymouth Harbour, Christchurch Harbour and Bournemouth Airport.

Marine Policing Unit

Dorset Police' Marine Unit is responsible for policing the 89 miles of Dorset's coastline and up to 12 miles out to sea. The area is one the busiest coastal areas in the UK, including two of the busiest ports, numerous shipping lanes, thousands of private moorings, the RNLI's busiest callout area and a training centre for the Royal Marines.^[8]

Armed Response Unit

Dorset Police's Armed Response Group is a 24/7 sub-department of the Operations department that responds to major and serious crimes where firearms are involved. The unit responds to incidents with the capability of firearms and Taser deployment. As of 2011, they were working hard to 'crack-down' on imitation firearms. BMW X5s are the main vehicle used by this unit in black or dark blue.^[9][10]

Dog Section

Dorset Police has had a Dog Section since 1953; the unit is based in Eastern Division HQ in Ferndown. The unit comprises 1 Inspector, 2 Sergeants and 18 Constables and almost 30 dogs, including German Shepherds, Labradors and English Springer Spaniels.^[11]

Air Operations Unit

On 29 June 2012 The Police (Collaboration: Specified Function) Order 2012 came into effect.^[12] This order created the NPAS (National Police Air Service) which became operational 1 October 2012.^[13] What this means is individual police forces in England and Wales no longer have their own aviation units but must rely on NPAS.

Dorset Police Headquarters, Winfrith, was home to the MD 902 helicopter,^[14] until September the 26th 2014 when it was moved to Bournemouth international airport in Dorset on a permanent basis.

Headgear

Dorset Police officers wear the traditional custodian helmet in the comb style with a Brunswick star that reads 'Dorset Police' for foot patrol, a peaked cap for when on mobile patrol in vehicles, and a white peaked cap for traffic officers. Female officers wear a bowler hat, or a white bowler hat for traffic officers.

Uniform

When on duty officers wear black wicking T-shirts, and black combat trousers. Dorset Police no longer use the traditional police jumper, having favoured the black fleece with police written on the chest and back. Dorset Police do not have Brunswick stars on their epaulettes, just the rank and collar number (or just collar number for constables). Regular Officers and Special Constables wear the same uniform including black combat trousers, black wicking tops and black stab vests. High Visibility Tac Vests are now issued to all officers, along with Body Armour. The idea of these utility vests are to spread the weight of the equipment carried by officers across the torso rather than place strain on the waist when using a standard utility vest.

Formal dress comprises an open-necked tunic, with white shirt/blouse and tie/cravat. Constables and Sergeants wear custodian helmet's and collar numbers on their epaulettes, all higher-ranked officers wear peaked caps with their rank and collar numbers on their epaulettes. The No.1 uniform is accompanied by black boots or shoes and occasionally white gloves, or brown gloves for the rank of Inspector and above.

Equipment

Dorset Police use TETRA digital radios (Motorola), Samsung Smartphones, rigid handcuffs, the ASP 21" collapsible baton and PAVA 2 Incapacitant Spray (in place of CS Gas issued to Metropolitan Police officers).

As of early 2015, in an effort to increase efficiency, reduce bureaucracy, and increase officer visibility, officers now have access to Windows Tablet PCs with mobile data cards to allow them to complete paperwork, and undertake proactive work using tools such as ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) whilst out of the station.

Vehicles

Dorset Police have a total of 450 vehicles, and drive a total of 7.5 million miles a year. The force mainly use a combination of Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra Estate cars as divisional units. Most rural areas have 4x4 capability in the form of Land Rover Freelander 2s or Skoda Yetis. Roads policing units in Dorset are a combination of BMW Tourings Ford Focus STs, as well as newer Audis and Volvos. Firearms units in Dorset normally use BMW X5s in black or blue, but have been known to use other vehicles.

Dorset Police also use many other makes of vehicles from several different car manufacturers for the diverse categories of response vehicles required by the modern Police Officer.

Livery

Dorset Police use the modern yellow and blue retro-reflective battenberg markings all over all operational vehicles, as well as the Dorset Police crest on the bonnet.

Most of the non-operational fleet also feature the force crest and website links.

Dorset Police stopped using the 'jam sandwich' police car markings between 2000 and 2005 when battenburg markings came into favour

Name

Between 1855 and 1967 Dorset Police used the name Dorset County Constabulary, and served alongside Bournemouth Borough Police until the two forces merged in 1967, and from then was known as Dorset and Bournemouth Constabulary. In 1974 the force expanded its borders and therefore changed its name again, this time dropping the phrase 'constabulary' in favour of its current name Dorset Police.

British Crime Survey

The British Crime Survey for 2010 found that there was an overall fall in crime in Dorset by 2.5%, and the largest fall in crime was robbery, which fell by 20%, making Dorset Police the eighth best performing force out of 43 in England and Wales, and first in forces similar to Dorset.^[18]

The performance figures from Dorset Police comparing April to December 2009 with the same period during 2008, showed a 9.9% drop in burglary, an 8.5 per cent drop in criminal damage, a 3.5 per cent fall in vehicle crime, a 3% drop in total violent crime, and a 17.8 per cent fall in the most serious violent crime. Criminal damage fell by 5.8%, violence against the person without injury by 9.3%, violence against the person by 5.2%, drug offences by 5.1% and there was a 2.8 per cent fall in total recorded crime.^[19]

According to the British Crime Survey, 63.8 per cent of people think Dorset Police deals with local concerns, making Dorset the best performing force in England and Wales for that issue.

Some 9.9% of people say there is a high level of perceived anti-social behaviour, making Dorset the eighth best performing force in England and Wales – and the top performing force among its family of five most similar forces. Some 17.6% of people said there was a big problem with drugs while 18.8 per cent of people in Dorset said there was a big problem with drunk and rowdy behaviour. 51.6% of people in Dorset agreed that the police and local councils were dealing with issues, making Dorset the twelfth best performing force in England and Wales.^[20][21]

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary graded Dorset Police overall as 'fair' on local crime and policing, protection from serious harm, confidence and satisfaction.

In detail they were graded as 'fair' at Neighbourhood Policing, neighbourhood presence and solving crime. They were rated as 'good' at reducing crime.

They were graded 'excellent' at suppressing gun crime, suppressing knife crime, comparative satisfaction of the BME community, confidence in the police and proportion of police cost met by council.

They were scored 'poor' and 'stable' on reducing road death and injury.^[22]

Proposed merger

In 2006 the Home Office announced plans to reduce the number of police forces in the UK from 42 to 24 in an attempt to save money.^[23] The proposed idea would have seen Dorset Police merge with Gloucestershire Constabulary, Devon and Cornwall Police, Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Wiltshire Police to form a 'super police force'. The plans were publicly criticised by all the involved forces, stating that it would lead to poor quality service and a reduction in local policing.^[24] The plans for a proposed merger of forces was abandoned in August 2006 by the then Home Secretary, John Reid.^[25]

In September 2017 it was announced that Dorset and Devon and Cornwall Police would look at merging to form a single force.^[26]

Strategic Alliance

Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police formally agreed to go into a strategic alliance in March 2015. Being in an alliance means the two forces are working together in over 30 administrative and operational business areas.

This agreement follows the announcement in December 2013 from the chief officers and police and crime commissioners from Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police when they first agreed to explore opportunities for greater collaboration.

The aim of the work was to look at how the two forces could maintain effective policing whilst also reducing costs by working more closely together.

This was consistent with the direction set nationally by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and the Government, where neighbouring forces are encouraged to work more closely together.

The HMIC defines a strategic alliance as: “An agreement between two or more forces to pursue a set of agreed objectives, while retaining separate identities.”

Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police will continue to have their own distinct identities and will pursue police and crimes plans agreed locally with their elected police and crime commissioner.

In each business area, a single team and management structure, made up from people from both organisations, is being set up to work on behalf of both forces.

Any costs and savings which come from joining these business areas together in the strategic alliance will be shared between the two organisations in proportion to the size of each force.

The common areas of work included within the strategic alliance accounts for almost 40% of the total activity of the two forces.

These business areas include: admin services, finance, human resources, fleet services and information and communication technology (ICT) together with some specialist policing teams. Several of these, including the admin services and finance departments were among the first to go-live as alliance teams in April 2016.

Meanwhile, planning continues to design and bring together organisation structures, processes and technology.

So far the strategic alliance project is on track to achieve the initial target of £12m of combined annual savings by 2018.

As well as saving money, working in an alliance will have other benefits as the organisations share more assets, resources, expertise and best practice.

Dorset Emergency Services Partnership Initiative

Dorset Emergency Services Partnership Initiative is a project that ensures collaboration between emergency services in Dorset. This has seen the provision of a new fire station in Poole and Dorchester, new fire service headquarters in Poundbury and a joint area command for Dorset Police with Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service on the Wimborne Road site.^[27]

In September 2017, the Christchurch neighbourhood policing team moved from the site on Barrack Road to the fire station on Fairmile, further advancing the relationship between Dorset Police and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service. All the response officers who cover the Christchurch area are now based in Ferndown.

Dorset Police Male Voice Choir

The Dorset Police Male Voice Choir was founded on 4 July 1995 as independent charity that today has 60 members, that perform regularly throughout Dorset. The choir has performed throughout England and also France, Guernsey, Ireland and the USA. The choir has so far raised over £250,000 for charity.^[28]