Calls have been made for people to report crime in the countryside so police can tackle the problem.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill says the force needs help to better understand the nature and scale of the problem – all reports on rural crime will help officers build up a bigger picture of intelligence.

He spoke following a national rural crime day of action. This initiative is led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council which has been encouraging police forces across the country to give tackling rural crime an extra push.

On the day, Dorset Police's Rural Crime Team met with enforcement partners to discuss current plans and the most prolific offenders in the area. Officers also conducted a targeted police operation on known hotspots under cover of darkness.

Mr Underhill said: "We know that rural crime is a problem. But we also know that it is massively underreported.

"Our Rural Crime Team is dedicated to tackling rural crime and work tirelessly all year round to help protect our rural communities and bring offenders of rural crime to justice. Recent successes include a successful prosecution for poaching resulting in a five year criminal behaviour order; a number of arrests made in relation to tractor thefts in the county; and multi-agency operations to tackle fly-tipping and illegal waste carriage."

He added: "One of my frustrations is when people raise concerns about rural crime with me, and rightly so, but have not reported it to the police through the proper channels. People are getting better at reporting it. In fact the percentage of Dorset residents not reporting it was lower than the national average according to the results of the National Rural Crime Survey. But we know that what is reported is only part of the picture.

"When I met with the Rural Crime Team they had just been speaking to someone. During the course of the conversation he revealed he had recently seen suspicious lights in one of his fields that he hadn’t reported. It is vital that people report anything suspicious, be it lights in a field, an unfamiliar vehicle crossing private land or broken padlocks. It all adds to the intelligence picture. The police don’t know about it if you don’t tell them.

"The team were able to give him specific advice around what he had seen in addition to encouraging him to formally report it through 101. It goes to show that it is personally worthwhile speaking to police about any suspicious activity you witness. You may not necessarily be aware of what is going on in the area or how incidents might be connected and the police can advise you accordingly. But you can’t rely on chance meetings like this one. You also need to take action on rural crime and report it."