SERIOUS sexual offences in Dorset have increased by 31.5 per cent in the past year.

But Dorset Police claim the rise in figures is due to increased confidence by victims and reflects a "national increasing trend".

The figures were discussed as part of the Police and Crime Plan 2013 - 2017 at the Dorset Police and Crime Panel meeting.

The Police and Crime Plan outlines aims to reduce the number of people seriously harmed in Dorset. The six areas of focus are domestic abuse, child abuse/sexual exploitation, serious sexual offences, public place violent crime, hate crime and incidents and killed and seriously injured road casualties.

The volume of serious sexual offences recorded during 2015/16 exceeded that of the previous year, representing the fourth consecutive year of increase, with 240 additional crimes. Serious sexual offences increased from 763 to 1,003 - a rise of 31.5 per cent.

The report states this reflects a "national increasing trend" which has been attributed in part to the identification of sexual offences through improved domestic abuse risk assessment processes, as well as the reporting of other non-recent sexual offences.

Between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 total police recorded crime increased by 15.1 per cent, from 36,084 to 41,540. But the report states the increase in total crime "continues to be caused primarily by a rise in recorded lower level violence".

During 2015/16, the volume of dwelling burglaries recorded increased by 10.5 per cent from the previous year, equating to 151 additional burglaries.

The number of repeat victims also increased by 33.7 per cent from 2,395 to 3,203. Police and Crime Commissioner, Martyn Underhill, told the panel of plans to appoint a repeat victim champion to specifically help with this.

Speaking at the meeting Mark Cooper, temporary assistant chief constable at Dorset Police, said: "The more positive and effective we are, the more crime is going to be reported."

He also said that changes within crime recordings have attributed to the increase.

Martyn Underhill added: "More crimes are being reported from victims, leading to an increase in figures. But I am confident that the total number of crimes shown will go down. The number of break-ins to sheds and garages has decreased dramatically."