REPORTS of antisocial behaviour, violent domestic abuse and hate crimes have increased in Bournemouth this year, according to a report.

The town's Community Safety Partnership annual report, covering the first two quarters of the financial year 2016/17, reveals a 10 per cent increase in reported antisocial behaviour from 5,048 to 5,561 incidents, an eight per cent increase in reported violent domestic abuse from 704 to 763, and a 42 per cent increase in reported hate crimes from 64 to 91.

The figures are compared with the same period (April to September) for the previous year.

Hate crimes are alleged offences reported to police as being racially or religiously motivated by victims or witnesses.

The data also shows a 0.3 per cent increase in assault with injury crimes from 772 to 774, but a seven per cent decrease in serious acquisitive crime such as burglaries and robberies, from 1264 to 1176.

In its report the partnership - a combination of the borough council, emergency services, the NHS and probation and rehabilitation organisations - said some of the increases, "particularly domestic abuse and possibly hate crimes", could be put down to the increased willingness of victims to report offences.

Antisocial behaviour has also increased in Poole by 19 per cent over the same period, and across the Dorset County Council area by 15 per cent, the report says.

It says some, chiefly residential areas such as Littledown, Muscliff, Moordown, Kinson and West Howe were still seeing a reduction in antisocial behaviour reports, and increases were mainly in the town centre and areas "subject to begging, street drinking and rough sleeping".

The figure is also down four per cent in Boscombe West, the partnership says, possibly due to the private security officers provided in the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, who patrol the precinct.

The partnership, noting that it faces a "significantly challenging climate", is working on several measures to counter the increase, which will be discussed by the council's community overview and scrutiny panel on Thursday, January 19.

These include establishing a 'multi-agency safeguarding hub' - intended to be more efficient at identifying children at risk of harm in domestic abuse relationships - allocating more resources to town centre patrols and the rough sleepers team, and the creation of 'third party reporting centres' where people can report hate crimes if they do not wish to approach the police "but still want support".