“Dorset Police need to have close links with the community they serve” Police Crime Commissioner.

The Neighbourhood Policing team scheme has been given the rating ‘good’ after changing their plans to connect with the local communities.

The plans originally launched last year by Dorset Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) requires each team to meet a minimum of 10 standards.

The plans range from improving social media and arranging face-to-face meetings.

The teams were required to draw up their own plans on how they were going to meet these standards and improve their connections with the local community.

These contracts are part of a four-year strategy Police and Crime Plan.

Now, the OPCC has reviewed each plan and judged them alongside a strict criteria where each plan has been rated as ‘good’.

Dorset PCC Martyn Underhill said: “Policing has changed massively over the last few years but one thing that will never change is that the police need to have close links with the people they serve.

“It’s brilliant news both for local communities and the Force itself that each of these neighbourhood contracts has been given a ‘good’ rating, as improving these connections is a piece of work that’s far too important to be left to chance.”

The Neighbourhood Engagement contracts set out how each team plans to engage with the local community and keep the public safe in their designated area.

Dorset Police Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “Our officers and staff work incredibly hard to build relationships with the communities they serve, which helps us to gather intelligence, bring offenders to justice and ultimately keep our residents safe.

“I am pleased the OPCC has found our approach to engaging with local communities to be ‘good’ across the board.

“We’re currently in the process of writing our contracts for this year and these will not only be assessed by the OPCC, but also panels made up of community representatives.

“We look forward to continuing our hard work to build stronger partnerships with the communities we serve.”

Each Neighbourhood Policing Team has published their contract onto the Dorset Police website so that members of the public will able to see what their officers are doing to connect to them.