Keeping Bournemouth Safe

Keeping Bournemouth Safe

Tackling crime and anti-social behaviour is your number one priority. We are a family-friendly seaside town that has a vibrant night time economy. We must feel safe and enjoy living in our beautiful location. 

Campaigning for more money to keep you safe from crime

  • An increase of £11.1 million for Dorset Police for 2024/25 which brings their total funding to £179.8 million, plus an additional 174 new police officers across Dorset to help with frontline policing.
  • Secured an £600,000 from the Home Office towards reducing violence in Bournemouth
  • Secured £345,000 through our Safer Streets Fund to tackle violence against women and girls and crackdown on crime.
  • Secured a fully funded Violence Reduction Unit to prevent the increase in knife crime we have seen on other towns.

What action is being taken

  • Operation Nightjar - an initiative by Dorset Police to apprehend individuals looking to cause serious violence or carrying offensive and greater engagement with schools to warn teenagers of these dangers.

  • The Government are introducing new laws to clear the streets of weapons with tougher sentences for offenders and new powers for police to seize knives. Machetes and Zombie-Style knives will be banned. These weapons will be made illegal and sentences for sale and possession will be strengthened.

  • I have actively been going out on Patrol with Bournemouth Police and exchanging ideas to ensure Bournemouth is a safe place for both residents and visitors. 

  • Working with business and stakeholders on a fresh and clear strategy that ensures Bournemouth's reputation as an attractive and safe seaside town for all the family is upheld. 

Supporting the Police & Crime Commissioner 

Your Police & Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick, is determined that Dorset will be the safest county.

  • Increased the visibility of the Police with more officers in communities.
  • Re-opened Gloucester Road Police Station to improve the response times in east Dorset.
  • 25% cut in anti-social behaviour and increasing patrols in hotspots.
  • Strong measures such as Operation Scorpio & Operation Viper, which have cut County Lines by 45%
  • Putting victims & communities first.
  • Rapid Action on unauthorised encampments.

You may also be interested in

Violence Reduction Unit for Bournemouth

As a popular seaside town, Bournemouth has a vibrant nightlife, with thousands of visitors enjoying the night-time hospitality on any Friday or Saturday night. If we are to prevent Bournemouth from experiencing a similar rise in knife crime to that we have sadly seen in other parts of the country, we need action in Bournemouth now.

News

Tobias Ellwood MP joins Bournemouth Police on patrol

Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East, has recently joined Bournemouth Police on both their Friday night evening patrol and mid-week afternoon patrol around his constituency of Bournemouth East in a bid to crack down on antisocial behaviour and knife crime. 

Tobias Ellwood MP visits newly re-opened Boscombe Police Station

Tobias Ellwood, MP for Bournemouth East visited Boscombe Police Station on Gloucester Road to celebrate its re-opening for operational use. He was joined by David Sidwick, Dorset's Police and Crime Commissioner and a number of local officers.