Police in Blandford have investigated more assaults this year than any other type of offence.

Statistics reveal that they have dealt with 91 reported assaults since the beginning of the year.

Numbers peaked in January with 18 reported incidents, and while the figure has fallen almost every month since, an average of nine people a month are still reporting violent incidents.

PC Simon Evans, a patrol officer with the Blandford Safer Neighbourhood team, said officers tackled assault in a range of scenarios.

“It’s not just ‘Friday night down the pub’. While many of them are pub assaults, there are also children fighting and domestic incidents,” said PC Evans. But he added that 91 assaults over a nine-month period among a population of about 11,000 meant that for the overwhelming majority of residents, Blandford remained a safe place.

Some 507 crimes were recorded from January to September, including criminal damage, theft from motor vehicles, and burglaries from homes and business premises. Some 231 “other crimes” outside of these categories were also recorded.

The total amount of crime recorded in the town has fallen slightly this year. An average of 56 offences has been recorded each month so far this year, compared to 58 until September in 2009.

PC Evans pointed to the detection rate – some 213 of 507 reported offences – as evidence that the town’s officers were serious in their approach to fighting crime.