Security Dorset
Dorset Police and Poole Harbour Watch in the UK are working together to make the county’ s marine community even safer as the dark winter nights draw in.
Poole Harbour Watch is a voluntary group, set up in 1995, involving the Poole Harbour Master, local boat owners, representatives from local marinas, local businesses and the RNLI.
Working closely with Dorset Police, the group aims to deter and detect crime in the Poole Harbour area by providing a Neighbourhood Watch service in the marine community.
Alongside the Force’s Marine Section, Poole Harbour Watch is the ‘eyes and the ears’ on the water in Poole and the partnership between Dorset Police and the group has been very successful.
Dorset Police Marine Section Inspector Alan Ewart said, ‘Marine crime has fallen by 20% in the Poole Harbour area during the past year but we want to remind members of the marine community in Poole, and around the rest of Dorset, not to be complacent.
‘Boat owners must remain vigilant and follow simple crime prevention steps to ensure their craft and equipment remains safe as the nights become darker and the marinas and waterways become quieter through the winter months.
‘Lots of boat owners become very security conscious during the busy summer months and we ask that they continue to ensure they take care of their craft and equipment during the quieter periods of the year.’
Dorset Police and Poole Harbour Watch work together to carry out a number of patrols in and around Poole Harbour and these will continue throughout the winter months.
David Butcher of Poole Harbour Watch said, ‘As well as providing education to the marine community and taking part in other operations with Dorset Police, our previous patrols have proved to be very effective in acting as a deterrent to crime and in actively combating crime.
‘Our volunteers work very hard alongside marine police colleagues to ensure the harbour is safe and we would encourage all members of the marine community to help us to be vigilant and follow simple crime prevention advice to help us make the harbour even safer.
The success of Poole Harbour Watch means that Dorset Police is now hoping to extend the scheme to cover other areas in Dorset.
Inspector Alan Ewart concluded, ‘We want to make all waterways in Dorset even safer so we are looking to get a Harbour Watch scheme up and running in other busy coastal areas including Christchurch, Weymouth, Portland, Lyme Regis and West Bay.’
