PEOPLE will have a chance to tell police what's on their minds at a series of events this week.

Keen to work together with communities to tackle issues 'on the ground', officers in Weymouth and Dorchester are inviting residents to speak their minds.

Community bobbies are now a familiar sight in towns across Dorset as the force rolls out Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT).

Today sees the start of a national campaign to highlight some of the positive work going on and events have been arranged in West Dorset as part of the drive.

Portland street corner meetings are being held in Weston today, Easton Square tonight and Underhill tomorrow.

Southill Community Centre is hosting a crime prevention day on Wednesday while on Friday police in Dorchester are joining forces with local authority dog wardens to patrol hotspots highlighted by residents.

A community litter and graffiti clean-up is being held in Westham on Saturday and next Monday a street corner meeting will be held in Dorchester town centre.

SNTs are made up of regular officers, Police Community Support Officers and Special Constables and they try to ensure that communities are listened to and feel safe.

Through the Partners and Communities Together (PACT) panels, residents are given a voice.

PACT has been up and running in Dorchester North since March with the SNT working closely with partners to tackle priorities.

Chairman of Dorchester PACT the Rev Jane Culliford said: "The PACT process relies on the community getting involved and telling us what they want tackled in their area.

"This is a chance to have your voice heard and start problem solving in your community to help make it safer."

PACT seeks views through public meetings, surgeries, street corner meetings, face to face surveys and postcards which are left in shops. Figures show that 358 fewer crimes took place in Dorchester in 2006 compared with 2005, with dwelling burglary and vehicle crime down by nearly 18 per cent.

Inspector Les Fry said: "There are always improvements to make and I believe the launch of dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams will see quality of life issues, such as anti-social behaviour, tackled head-on."