DORSET'S commitment to community engagement has been recognised and highlighted by the Cabinet Office in a recent Office for Civil Society (OCS) report.

The active community engagement strategy was launched in Dorset in an effort to have communities work in partnership to reduce crime.

As part of the strategy, open engagement with people across Dorset is promoted to ensure they feel listened to and valued.

It aims to ensure that the community are given the opportunity to take part in PCC engagement activities and the voice of the public is used to help shape policing for future generations.

The report states that the Dorset PCC community engagement strategy's adopted approach demonstrates that 'no person or group of people are hard to reach' and 'emphasises the importance of exerting more effort and creativity in reaching these groups and reducing any barriers to such engagement'.

Martyn Underhill, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner said: "I am delighted that the Cabinet Office has recognised our commitment to community engagement both at public events and online via our website and social media channels. They praised our approach that no person or groups are hard to reach, and our effort and creativity in ensuring that all members of the community are able to have their say on policing, crime and community safety issues affecting them.

"The world is evolving and the ways in which Dorset residents want to contact us is changing too – we have to constantly innovate to ensure we meet their needs. Last year we won a national award for our community engagement and earlier this year we launched a new website to further strengthen our engagement with online communities. The site is going from strength to strength with increasing visitor numbers and interaction."

This year Dorset Police have further expanded their engagement programme which will see Mr Underhill and the team attending all major Dorset shows and events, along with bespoke visits to towns across the county.