OFFICERS in Dorset are being asked to police 21st Century crime with resources from the 1980s.

​Almost 300 police officer jobs have been lost within five years. There are 19 per cent fewer officers on the streets than in 2009. Half of all officers have been lost from the police marine section. A quarter of specialist officers to police roads lost. Just 13 police dog handlers left for all of Dorset. 

These are messages of the Dorset Police Federation as the organisation launches the Dorset version of the #CutsHaveConsequences: Who is protecting the protectors? campaign.

The Federation has released a video protesting the financial cuts to the police service in Dorset, just after plans to cut eight of the county's police stations were revealed.

Shot in the county, a voiceover reveals that more than £20 million has been slashed from police budgets, with another £10m expected.

Dorset Police Federation #CutsHaveConsequences from Tinker Taylor on Vimeo.

PC Tony Tester, who is chair of the Federation, said: “Many people just don't know about the impact of these cuts.

“We wanted to show that the force has sustained huge cuts already, with more to come.”

In the video, it is revealed that central government gives the force less money per person than anywhere else in the country.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill has also backed the campaign - the first PCC to do so.

He said: “Any future cuts have the potential to effectively and significantly change policing in Dorset.

“The public need to know that.”

He said that although staffing levels are now the same as in the 1980s, demand has “rocketed”.

“Child sexual exploitation, human trafficking and honour-based violence existed but were not given the requisite prominence they are today,” he said.

“Add to that internet fraud and other cyber-crime and we can see crime is changing and becoming more complex to investigate.”

The campaign aims to get residents across the country to write to their local politicians to protest the cuts.

For more information on the Federation or the campaign, visit Dorset.polfed.org