Dorset Police

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMI): Roy Wilsher is temporary HMI for Dorset.

This force is in the Wales and Western HMICFRS policing region.

Performance
News
Publications
Key Facts
About the force

HMICFRS’s assessment of Dorset Police

Our PEEL (police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy), and other force assessments give you information about how your local police force has performed in several important areas.

In our latest assessments of Dorset Police, we made the following judgments:

Good	Adequate	Requires improvement
Recording data about crime	Protecting vulnerable people	Police powers and treating the public fairly and respectfully
Preventing and deterring crime and antisocial behaviour, and reducing vulnerability	Managing offenders and suspects	Responding to the public
	Building, supporting and protecting the workforce	Investigating crime
	Leadership and force management	Tackling workforce corruption

Read our other reports for Dorset Police

Report on an inspection visit to police custody suites in Dorset – May 2023
Dorset – National child protection inspection – August 2021

Key facts – 2019/20

Force Area

1,024 square miles

Population

0.777m people

5% local 10 yr change

Workforce

89% frontline police officers

92% national level

3.43 per 1000 population

3.69 national level

1% 10yr change in local workforce

5% 10yr national change

Victim-based crimes

0.05 per person

0.06 national level

9% Local 5 year trend

9% National 5 year trend

Cost

53p per person per day local

59p per person per day national

About the force

Dorset Police provides policing services to the county of Dorset. The police force area covers 1,024 square miles with approximately 140 miles of coastline in the south west of England.

Although there are some areas of deprivation, Dorset is generally affluent.

Around 0.8 million people live in a predominantly rural setting. The area has a number of distinct urban areas, including the towns of Bournemouth, Poole, Weymouth and Dorchester. The resident population is increased by university students and the large numbers who visit, socialise in, or travel through the county each year.

The transport infrastructure includes air and sea ports.

More about this area – What Dorset Police says

Connect with Dorset Police

Dorset Police website

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner’s website