Antisocial behaviour at 18-year low, says PCC

David Sidwick said Operation Relentless had been targeting antisocial behaviour

Antisocial behaviour in Dorset is at its lowest level for 18 years, according to the county's police and crime commissioner.

David Sidwick said the improvement was partly down to Operation Relentless, launched in 2020, and its community fund that helps organisations tackle antisocial behaviour.

Speaking at Thursday's county-wide Police and Crime Panel, Mr Sidwick also highlighted work to tackle speeding on the B3157 coast road which involved "virtually every asset we had, including drones".

He told the meeting in Dorchester that he would continue to press for action on knife and drug crime and would continue to target rural crime.

Reporting on the first quarter of 2025/26, Mr Sidwick said: "We are now running at the lowest antisocial behaviour that we've had since 2007-2008.

"That's partly because the police have a priority around it called Operation Relentless but also because, in this quarter, we launched the fifth round of the Operation Relentless community fund.

"This awarded £49,623 to 12 organisations who came forward with plans to address antisocial behaviour."

Mr Sidwick said there were now more than 50 locations in Dorset that had received the funding.

Targeted patrols have contributed to a reduction in antisocial behaviour

He said a targeted policing initiative - Operation Track - launched in April 2024, had also resulted in a 70% reduction of antisocial behaviour and violence at "hotspots" in Bournemouth and Weymouth.

He added the initiative was being rolled out to more locations and said there had been 1,467 hours of targeted patrols in the first quarter of the year.

During the meeting, Mr Sidwick also highlighted an operation on the B3157 coast road where 34 drivers had been caught speeding.

He said: "We did this particularly because the coast road is a hotspot for speeding.

"We utilised virtually every asset we had, including drones, in order to make certain we made a difference."