NUISANCE calls are putting a "very real burden" at the Dorset Police 101 command centre.

Since its introduction in 2011, 101 call handling has been subject to public criticism around call response times and system failures. The service receives around 8,500 calls per week - approximately 1,200 calls per day.

However Dorset Police are striving to make much-needed improvements to the service and Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill has outlined it as one of the eight key manifesto pledges he will achieve during the first 100 days of his new term of office.

Speaking at a Police and Crime Panel meeting held in Dorchester last week, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Colin Pipe said about 25 per cent of the calls received are what are classed as "nuisance calls" which is putting a "very real burden" on the 101 command centre.

He said: "The 101 service is one of the big areas concerned. Issues have been continually raised by members of the public.

"We want the public to have a reasonable degree of satisfaction. This is why the PCC has made it one of the commitments for his first 100 days in office. "The service had a difficult start but it has improved but there are a number of issues we are still looking at.

"With our new website lost property and things like that can be reported online which would help to lift the burden on call handlers. We are also looking at Skype as a means of contacting the public.

"We will be inviting members of the public who have reported difficulties to come to a panel meeting and talk us through their story and see what lessons we can learn from that."

He added the increase of calls to 101 could be due to cuts of other public bodies therefore the public are turning to the police as a "last resort".

A report considered by the panel said that despite ongoing awareness raising campaigns both locally and nationally, the force still encounters misuse of the service.

It stated: "Calls to 101 that are not related to police business prevent members of the pubic who have a legitimate reason for contacting the police doing so in a timely manner."

Following his election in 2012, Mr Underhill pledged to improve the service by holding the force to account.

The chief constable responded by establishing a triage system for calls, assessing them by risk. Call handler numbers have also been increased to deal with demand, as awareness of the single number has grown.

It is expected that the advent of the new Dorset Police website will reduce some of this pressure as online reporting can be used to redirect reports to the correct departments within the force, or via web links to the relevant authorities.