Dorset Police Chief Constable reveals 2024 stats
It's been a busy year for the force across the year
Dorset's Police Chief Constable has been sharing some of the facts and figures of the force's year - and it's been a busy one.
Amanda Pearson has written an open letter about what police have been dealing with in the year to November 2024.
999 call handlers took a total of 133,500 calls, with 146,000 calls to 101 service - 51,000 crimes and intelligence reports were submitted online as well.
58,700 incidents have been attended, with almost 9,100 arrests made.
The force have also helped to locate 2,765 missing people and referred 32,400 adults and children to Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs for support.
The Chief Constable also spoke of some more serious incidents, they've dealt with:
"As a police service, sadly we must also react to tragic events with professionalism, tenacity and compassion. We demonstrated this across a range of major incidents and investigations, such as the tragic death of Amie Gray on Bournemouth beach and the sad deaths of three residents at a care home in Swanage.
"Alongside that, we continue to disrupt drug supply as part of Operation Scorpion and Operation Viper, by focusing on organised criminality and those who prey on our communities.
"Meanwhile, our Roads Policing Team and family liaison officers have supported 279 people who have been seriously injured on our road network and the families of 17 people who sadly lost their lives."
She's also paid tribute to staff members behind the front line, as well as volunteers like their 234 Special Constables.
The force has also been highlighting issues that have affected them this year - with Chief Constable Pearson saying:
"This year has also been a time for scrutiny and reflection, and it is critical that we can identify those occasions when we don’t always get things right. That is why I made the decision to acknowledge institutional racism within our organisation and wrote to our Black communities.
"This was not a decision I took lightly, and it can be hard to accept that collectively we aren’t doing our very best to deliver fair and effective policing to everyone. This will not be an easy or quick fix, but we are fully committed to improving Black people’s experiences of policing by eliminating racial disparities and becoming an inclusive and anti-racist organisation and we all have a role to play. To explain how we intend to drive forward change, we have launched our refreshed Police Race Action Plan."
And there was a final message:
"I would like to thank every officer, member of staff and volunteer for their commitment in making Dorset a safe county for everyone. We are one of the safest counties in the country, which is a testament to the hard work and determination of everyone to be tough on crime, keep people safe and put our victims and witnesses first.
"Policing is more than a job, it’s a vocation and our people sometimes may not make that family celebration, may be quieter than usual around their family after a difficult shift or may not socialise with friends as regularly anymore. For all those times, and others too, I want to thank those who support them, offering your understanding and compassion."
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