DORSET Police are set to share real-time updates of emergency and non-emergency calls received by the force during a 12 hour ‘Tweetathon’.

The event will run from 3pm today until 3am on Saturday, August 6, and is aimed at highlighting the significant and varied demand placed on the police on a daily basis: especially during busy summers.

Members of the public will be able to keep across the updates by following @DorsetPolice on Twitter or keeping an eye on the #ControlRoomLIVE hashtag.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Lyne, from Dorset Police, said: “We want to give members of the public a real insight into the work our hard working officers and staff manage in a typical day so expect to see several hundred tweets sharing the demand coming into us over the 12 hours.

“It has been an exceptionally busy time for Dorset Police – July was our busiest month on record for 999 calls with our contact officers processing 13,449 emergency calls for assistance – up by 1,000 calls on our previous record.

“During the summer months, emergency 999 calls increase by 23 per cent, calls to 101 increase by 12 per cent and we’re recording 17 per cent more incidents in a typical day. Meanwhile officers on the front line are responding to 20 per cent more incidents classed as ‘grade 1’ – our highest priority, coming to the urgent assistance of residents and visitors to the county.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick, said: “The Tweetathon is not only a good way of sharing information about contacting the police, it also shows a side to the work of Dorset Police that many people don’t get to see – the work that goes on behind the scenes 24/7 to keep us all safe. Shining a light on police demand is essential if we are to understand and be able to react to the needs of our residents and communities.

“I would like to thank all the staff and officers involved – whether they are the contact officers, taking calls at 2am when the rest of us are sleeping, or the police officers, PCSO’s and special constables out on the beat or police staff working hard to keep the social media messaging up to date – your work is very much valued and appreciated.”