Continue to bring the police to the heart of the communities they serve

Building on specific initiatives completed during the first term of office, the PCC pledged to continue increasing police access, presence and availability within communities.

Melcombe Regis in Weymouth and Boscombe have been identified as specific priority areas by the PCC.

Police funding and resourcing has remained challenging throughout the term but the PCC has honoured his pledge to retain Neighbourhood Policing Teams and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Dorset.

More specifically, the PCC plays an active role on both the Boscombe Regeneration Partnership and the Melcombe Regis Board. Both bring key partners together to look at a range of issues relevant to each area – such as housing, economy, environment, health, crime and community safety – and develop sustainable problem-solving approaches to tackling them.

In addition, the PCC has provided funding towards both the Boscombe and Weymouth Community Safety Accreditation Schemes (CSAS). The CSAS scheme allows the Chief Constable to provide organisations and their employees with limited powers to assist the police.

The CSAS schemes in Boscombe and Weymouth have allowed additional patrols to take place, beyond what the police are able to deliver on their own, and have helped tackle anti-social behaviour and lower-level issues. More recently, the Commissioner has supported a further CSAS project in Poole as one of a range of measures implemented to tackle an increase in Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) in the area.

The PCC has also overseen the implementation of Neighbourhood Engagement Contracts (NECs) – setting out a number of minimum standards that the Chief Constable expects each Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) to deliver to their communities. Further information can be found here.