Bournemouth declared a 'safe place' despite MP's comments

Ch Supt Heather Dixy was on a Facebook Live panel along with other police and council figures

Bournemouth remains a "safe place" to live and visit, police and council officials have insisted.

A live question and answer session on social media heard fears about knife crime and safety in the area.

It follows comments by the town's new MP raising concerns the resort was unsafe for women and girls.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said people should "look at reality rather than the puff" on social media.

Tom Hayes, who became the first Labour MP for the Bournemouth East constituency in July, told BBC Radio Solent he planned to work with police to make Bournemouth safer.

He said there had been reports the town centre was "particularly" unsafe for women and girls at night.

The Facebook Live Q&A on Thursday allowed the public to post questions for a panel of senior police officers, BCP Council staff as well as Mr Sidwick.

Ch Supt Heather Dixy said: "We've done significant work over the past year in terms of visible policing within the night-time economy.

"We've seen a real reduction in [offences of] violence against women and girls... we have seen a reduction in reports of sexual offences year on year."

Police said they have stepped up patrols in Bournemouth town centre

She also responded to a question about the prevalence of knife crime in the resort following a number of high-profile incidents.

"There is a negative perception on social media that BCP is an unsafe place and we are having stabbings - that is not the case.

"Yes, we've seen some serious incidents that have been extremely devastating, but Bournemouth is not alone in experiencing these issues."

She added there had been two stabbing incidents in the town centre between June and September, both non life-threatening.

"Two is too many. This is not happening every single day. This is a real priority for us... I want to reassure you knife crime is coming down within the area," she said.

Mr Sidwick also referred to "unhelpful" social media and press reports claiming hundreds of stabbing incidents in the resort.

"The reality is this is a safe place. We have to work really hard to make sure our young people don't carry knives - that is a national issue."

But he admitted "stats don't stand up if people don't feel safe".