Dorset Police deals with hundreds of calls in each day
ranging from urgent 999 calls to general enquiries. Here we have
listed our current top enquiries into Dorset Police and
information which may assist in resolving your enquiry -
These will change depending on current issues. if you would like to
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Click on the heading below to view the
information:
Lost / Stray Dogs >
Drink and Drug Driving>
Missing Person >
When are your police
stations open? >
Noise Nuisance >
Property >
Anti Social
Behaviour >
Custody Enquiries >
Vehicles >
Road Traffic
Collisions >
Alarms >
Lost / Stray Dogs
As of 31 October 2010, Dorset Police will no longer
accept stray dogs. This reflects a change in the law, and from this
date responsibility for stray dogs passes to Local Authorities. If
you find a stray dog you are advised to contact your Local
Authority Dog Warden in the first instance. Contact numbers are
provided below. The Dog Warden Service is also useful if you are
searching for a lost dog.
Local Authority websites with information on dog
wardens:
Bournemouth Borough Council (Tel : 01202
451306) >
Borough
of Poole (Tel : 01202 261700)
>
Dorset
County Council (See website for your local
warden service) >
Download the "I'm Lost" lost /
stray dog poster (236kb PDF) >
Drink and Drug Driving:
If you suspect a vehicle is being driven
by someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs contact
Dorset Police immediately by dialling 999 – so that officers can
intercept the vehicle.
You can also call Dorset Police’s
non-emergency number on 101 or the free and anonymous Crimestoppers
line on 0800 555 11.
When reporting a missing person it is useful if you
consider the following points and have any relevant information
ready before speaking to the police:
- A description of the person and what
clothes they are wearing.
- Details of their vehicle, registration
number, colour etc.
- Date and time of when they were last seen
or spoken to.
- Is the person on any medication?
- Does the person have any mental health
issues?
- The person’s mobile phone number?
- Details of any family/friends or location
that the person may be visiting.
When are your police stations open ?
Officers and Staff operate from our
stations 24 hours a day (or, are on duty in the area 24 hours
a day).
Our planned opening hours for our Station Desk
Offices are listed against each station via the link below.
If you visit the station outside these hours and the Station
Desk Office is unmanned this normally will be because our officers
and operational staff are out on patrol or are engaged in other
operational duties. Consequently, whenever the Station Desk
Office is not open there is a telephone help point outside the
station that will enable you to contact us. In an emergency
always dial ‘999’.
To find
you nearest police station please follow this link >
The police do not have any powers to prosecute for
noise nuisance.
You should contact your Local Authority Environmental Health
Departments, they can have extended cover, but it may be restricted
to certain days of the week (e.g. Friday, Saturday), and can be
called at any time numbers are available in your telephone
directory or authority web sites, as listed below . Most
common reports of Noise Nuisance are
Noisy Neighbours - For
long-term problems, call your local Environmental Health
department, they may ask you to keep a diary of the noise
nuisance. The whole process can take some time to complete,
so you may have to be patient.
Loud Parties - The police
may attend at incidents such as this and can ask the organisers to
turn the music down. However, the police have no powers of
prosecution for noise offences and so it may still be necessary to
contact your local Environmental Health Department. You must be
aware however that loud music, on a Saturday night, for example, is
going to be a fairly low priority for the police and they may not
be able to attend for some time. Also if the noise is in the
afternoon it is unlikely that police will visit. It would be mainly
during what would be classed as anti-social hours. However should
you wish to contact police for further information or
clarification, follow this link for our contact details >
For further information regarding other
forms of Noise Nuisance follow our link to http://www.askthepolice.co.uk/
where fuller explanations are available.
Borough of Bournemouth website >
Borough of Poole website
>
Dorset For
you website >
When reporting any found or lost property it is most
useful if you have the following information:
- Where it was lost/found.
- When it was lost/found.
- Description of property and any identifying
marks, numbers etc.
Most common reports relating to Property
are:
Lost Mobile Phone
If you have lost your mobile phone the
police will need The IMEI/serial number on your phone, as this is
unique to your mobile phone. (To find out what your IMEI number is
type *#06# into your phone.)
Below are contact details for the main
mobile phone network providers:
- 3 - 08707 330 333
- O2 - Contract 08702 410 202/ Other
08705 678 678
- Orange – Contract 07973 100 150/ Other07973
100 450
- T Mobile - 0845 412 5000
- Virgin - 0845 6000 789
- Vodafone – Contract - 08700 700 191 / Other
- 08700 77 66 55
When reporting any anti social behaviour to the Police
it is very useful for us to know any of the
following:
- What sort of behaviour is/has taken
place?
- Where is/was it taking place?
- How many people are/were involved?
- Do you have any descriptions of the people
involved?
If this is a one off incident then you
should contact the police who, if possible, will try and attend and
disperse the persons involved. The police do now have powers to
confiscate alcohol from youths in a public place including open and
sealed containers (subject to certain conditions).
If this is a persistent problem then it
could be classed as anti social behaviour and you should
contact your local neighbourhood police officer(s) who will
over a period of time collate the necessary evidence against
the persons involved with a view for eventually
obtaining anti social behaviour orders (ASBOs ).
Unfortunately this will not happen over night, as the police and
local council have to ensure that they have all the necessary
evidence.
However, as a member of the public you could
greatly assist the police by keeping your own diary of the
behaviour. Ensuring that you record as much details as
possible, including times, dates, types of behaviour, names and/or
descriptions.
The police are not allowed to inform anyone of the fact
that a person has been detained without their express permission
(unless the person in custody is a juvenile).
It is very unlikely that the custody staff
will give you any information about any person detained in the
cells. The detained person does have the right to a phone call and
the right to have someone told of his or her detention (except in
specific circumstances).
Please note that all vehicles that are used on the
public highways must hold a valid tax disc, MOT
certificate, and insurance.
For any further information or to report a
vehicle that does not have a valid tax disc please call the
DVLA
on 0870 240 0010 or you can report a vehicle that does not have a
valid tax disc online at the
directgov.uk website.
Road Traffic Collisions
If you are involved in a road traffic
collision where no one has been injured, the road has not been
blocked and insurance details have been exchanged then the police
do not need to be informed. Road traffic law has been complied with
and the police will not take a report.
If, however, there are injured parties or
the road is blocked by the incident please contact the police
urgently and where possible with the following information:
- What is the location of this incident?
- How many vehicles are involved?
- How many people are injured?
- Has an ambulance been called?
Alarms
The Police will attend alarms installed in line with the
ACPO Alarms
Policy. The majority of domestic alarms do not comply with that
policy by virtue of the fact they are audible only systems.
However, should there be an activation and
there is evidence of criminal activity dial 999.
It is not advisable to put yourself in any danger by making the
checks yourself.
If it appears to be a false activation,
still contact the police but on their non-emergency number as they
may have the owners contact details on their database. If it is a
persistent problem see the question in related information about
noisy neighbours.
If you have a question that is not
answered here please follow our link to http://www.askthepolice.co.uk/
where more questions with answers are available.