Dorset Police is pledging its commitment to involve and communicate with residents to bolster its neighbourhood approach to policing.
The Force has renewed its local plans under the Neighbourhood Engagement Commitment (NEC) initiative so communities can communicate as effectively as possible with their local neighbourhood team. The NEC establishes minimum standards and common objectives that each neighbourhood policing team aims to achieve within their policing area.
Each community in Dorset has a dedicated neighbourhood policing team, designed to be a link between the police and the public. Spending time in the local area enables relationships to be built with communities and partnership agencies, providing a cohesive approach for all.
These renewed commitments will pledge regular engagement opportunities among communities through pop up events such as face-to-face engagements, public meetings, and digital opportunities like Facebook LIVE meetings, as well as more visible policing in communities. These will help to raise awareness of the teams and builds trust, allowing for a more focused approach to policing.
The sharing of information and intelligence helps us build profiles to support communities and partnership agencies to prevent crime, harm and anti-social behaviour.
New plans will be published on the neighbourhood policing pages of the Dorset Police website – www.dorset.police.uk – over the next few weeks.
Personal experiences are impacted by the views and perceptions of crime. These NECs will ensure a local level response to crime, which is representative and meaningful of the concerns of the communities.
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell, of Dorset Police, said: “Dorset Police is passionate about working with our neighbourhoods as we feel neighbourhood policing is the bedrock of community engagement. Our vision is to create a safe county for everyone, and this sits at the foundation of everything we do. We are committed to being tough on crime, keeping people safe and putting victims first. These three elements are at the core of our day-to-day activities and will help to guide our decisions and identify our priorities and future direction.
“These NECs will help us support our local communities and understand what really matters to them. This is our purpose and will help us to achieve our vision and bring us closer to all communities, partners and visitors.”
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: “Making policing more visible and connected is one of the policing priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan. I know how important local policing is to our residents and communities – seeing and knowing who your local officers and PCSO’s are, is vital to building up a well-supported and understood community and I want every resident to know who is on their beat and how to get in touch with them.
“I welcome this important pledge from Dorset Police, and I look forward to working closely with the Force over the coming months and years to build on the Neighbourhood Engagement Commitment and ensure Dorset Police officers and staff are as close as possible to the people they serve.”
To further support the communities of Dorset, Neighbourhood Enforcement Teams have been introduced. These teams will tackle a range of neighbourhood issues including noise, litter, licensing, highways and other relevant neighbourhood priorities. The implementation of the teams will help boost neighbourhood teams and support local communities.
Rural communities will also be supported. Through our uplift, the dedicated Rural Crime Team will increase, enabling the team to do even more to engage with rural communities and tackle all aspects of rural crime in new and innovative ways. The expanded team will help us to improve information sharing and enable us to work with local residents and partners to ensure that the views and concerns of rural communities are heard and acted upon.
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell continued: “We want our communities to know who their local officers are and feel confident to raise any concerns with them. Through an uplift in resources, we are investing in our neighbourhood teams to embed local teams even further within local communities. This will enable us to provide a greater focus on matters which most affect communities across Dorset, increasing our engagement reach, being tough on crime and delivering our objective of providing a safe county for everyone.
“We have introduced neighbourhood enforcement teams to boost the number of neighbourhood officers even more. These teams work proactively in neighbourhoods to work on issues that matter to them and cause the most harm. This includes our work under Operation Viper, to target drugs gangs, and expanding our Rural Crime Team, so we can tackle crime that impacts our rural communities and businesses.
“The renewed neighbourhood commitments will offer our communities a more community focused service that is visible, connected and trusted by all.”
To find more information about your Neighbourhood Policing Team please go to www.dorset.police.uk/neighbourhood-policing
