POLICE in Dorset spend almost half of their time dealing with issues relating to mental health - and officers are "buckling under the pressure", the county's police and crime commissioner has said.

Speaking on Wednesday at the first of four 'ask the experts' events, Martyn Underhill said vulnerable people are at the heart of the new police and crime plan.

During six weeks of public consultation, 2,036 Dorset people shared their views on policing priorities.

The majority of respondents - some 90 per cent - said that ‘protecting people at risk of harm’ should be a key focus for Dorset Police.

Mr Underhill said: "40 per cent of time is spent with people who have mental health issues - victims, witnesses or offenders.

"We have to reduce that statistic because policing is buckling under the pressure, let alone when you factor in what's happening with terrorism."

Those considered to be at risk of harm include people who have a need for care and support and those at risk of abuse or neglect.

"Protecting the most vulnerable in our communities will always be a core policing duty," Mr Underhill said.

"In the past, policing has failed to grasp the implications of vulnerability and how transient it is. You could be vulnerable for the whole of your life or you could be vulnerable for a month and just require temporary support.

"You could be vulnerable aged two or 102. Policing needs to be responsive to ensure that with other agencies, we effectively deal with that.”

Representatives from organisations including the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (The Shores), Dorset Rape Crisis (DRCSC) and the Independent Custody Visitors group also spoke at the event on Wednesday.

Mr Underhill said work to support people with mental health issues is already underway.

"We will soon be recruiting for independent custody visitors who make unannounced visits to custody to scrutinise conditions and I am continuing to campaign for people in mental health crisis to receive appropriate care in appropriate settings," he said.

"I am delighted that out of the 419 people detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act in 2015/16 in Dorset, only 10 spent any time in custody.

"Throughout my current term of office, I will continue to work with partners to reduce that number even further.”