Police chiefs are to urgently investigate why crime is on the rise in Dorset – amid calls for the force to ‘get to grips’ with the problem, and secure more funding.

A taskforce will be set up to examine if social changes are affecting crime levels.

But Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill says more funding is needed for the county.

Over the last five years, Dorset Police have experienced central Government cuts of £19 million. And the force has seen a reduction of more than 200 officers since 2010.

The county saw an 8 per cent increase in reported crime, according to Office for National Statistics, for the year April 2016 to March this year.

This is the first major rise after 10 years of crime gradually going down.

There were increases in individual crimes such as violence against the person, robbery, serious violence offences and sexual offences.

Crime categories which saw a reduction include burglaries and vehicle thefts.

Dorset Police say the crime rise follows predictions it made over the last few years and is in line with national trends.

Senior officers have stressed how Dorset is one of the safest areas in the country, that victim confidence is pushing up crime reports, and that the recording of crime has changed which accounts for particular increases in crime categories.

But the force admits there has also been a general rise in crime in communities it cannot explain. It is therefore setting up a ‘multi-agency group’ with councils and other partners on board to understand the factors behind the increase.

Deputy Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “We believe that we are now starting to see some increases in crime taking place in local communities. Such rises are being reported nationally and are generally being seen for higher-volume crime types that have lower levels of harm.

“It is too early to explain exactly why this is happening, as the reasons are likely to be complex, related to societal factors and influenced by changes to services across the whole public sector over the last few years.”

Genny Burchill, a resident of Melcombe Regis in Weymouth which is one of Dorset’s worst areas for rising crime, said there had been a reduction in the amount of officers assigned to the area.

She said: “There used to be eight members of our neighbourhood policing team a few years ago and now there are three so it doesn’t surprise me that crime is rising.

“They’re no longer cutting the fat off the bone in terms of austerity, they’re cutting the lean.

“The police do a great job as far as they can but how can they do the same job and keep on top of things with fewer numbers?”

POLICE and Crime Commissioner for Dorset Martyn Underhill said the force must ‘get to grips with why we are starting to see a genuine rise in crime’.

He said: “I have been vocal about the need to reinvest in the totality of policing. During the last decade, the citizen to police officer ratio has increased by 23 per cent, rising from 381 citizens per officer in 2006 to 461 in 2016 at a time of increased demand.”

He added: “It is an undeniable fact that police resourcing has changed; the service needs more money in order to build a safer and more secure future.

“Moreover, policing is operating in an environment where partner organisations across the emergency services, local authorities and the third sector are increasingly stretched. We need to understand if and how this is impacting upon policing and crime in Dorset.”