REPORTS of crime in Dorset rocketed by 14 per cent last year, with calls to police about violent crime up by more than a third, latest figures reveal.

However, Deputy Chief Constable James Vaughan said the statistics don’t tell the full story, and has reassured residents that offences on the county’s streets are continuing to drop.

“We have demonstrated we are fully committed to meeting the very high standards set out by the government on crime recording,” he said.

“As a consequence of improved practice, the force is publishing increases in total crime which I wish to reassure residents is due to a greater emphasis being placed on accuracy.”

DCC Vaughan said Dorset Police’s work to comply with complex Home Office counting rules was behind the increase.

“Nationally, there were inconsistencies in how crime was recorded,” he said.

“The rules concern what is seen as a crime.”

A 2014 inspection of the force by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that there was some “under-recording of crime issues”, the officer said.

“For example, if you were to look at some reports of anti-social behaviour, we would always respond to the call, attend, and deal with it effectively.

“But it would now be recorded differently, as a crime.”

The figures cover the year to the end of June with total violent crime going up by 37 per cent compared to an average 24 per cent across England and Wales.

DCC Vaughan said the rise was the result of more victims coming forward and better recording practices, as well as the inclusion of malicious communications into the category of harassment - a violent offence.

“Our safeguarding activity and our victim-focused approach has led to more people coming forward to report crimes affecting the most vulnerable in the county. We make no excuse for encouraging people to report such crimes - whatever impact that has on statistics,” he said.

He said Dorset remained a “safe place to live, work and visit”.

“We have got a huge amount of analysis and research on what’s actually happening on the streets of Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole,” he said.

“Overall, incidents continue to drop,”

Acting Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, Colin Pipe, added: “Ensuring that people feel confident reporting crime, whatever their situation, is a critical part of British policing.

“I am confident that the increase we are seeing is due to this enhanced trust, along with better recording practices.”

Dorset Police was graded as ‘good’ in its HMIC vulnerability inspection last year. The force was praised for its work to encourage people to report sexual offences and domestic abuse.