Keeping your communities safe

Everyone has the right to enjoy living peacefully in their home and community without being affected by anti-social behaviour (ASB). We recently worked with Dorset Police to tackle one particular issue that affects the lives of many of our customers – ‘County Lines’ and ‘cuckooing’.

Dorset is in the top 10 counties impacted by County Lines, where drugs are moved from larger cities to rural towns and villages to sell in these communities. This means that ‘cuckooing’, when drug gangs take over the home of a vulnerable person and use it as a base to deal drugs from, is a real issue within this community.

Together with the dedicated County Lines team at Dorset Police, we started a pilot scheme to tackle this issue. We carried out joint visits and provided support to local people to reduce incidents of County Lines. The scheme soon caught the attention of the College of Policing, and with input from us and Dorset Police, this has now been rolled out as a national pilot scheme.

Dorset Police has recently reported that there are now fewer County Lines and cuckooing issues happening in the area, as a direct result of the hands-on approach we’ve taken. The Police have also told us that gangs are aware of the tougher restrictions we will put in place and it’s having a positive effect on the community, and helping our customers feel safer in their homes.

Martin Underhill, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset Police 2012 – 2021, has called ASB teams the ‘hidden heroes of our community.’