WHILST I am pleased to read the optimistic report about the Dorset Police (‘Crime at 12-year low for Dorset’, Daily Echo February 15), this does not show the whole truth.

Twelve years ago the level of crime in Swanage was unacceptably high, with yobs causing £50,000 worth of damage to council property alone per year, wrecking the public toilets and forcing the council to demolish the sports pavilion.

Two years ago the number of road deaths in Dorset was increasing going against the national trend and higher than in comparable areas such as Powys and Dyfed.

The police have made immense strides in reducing the crime rate. Their “remove your valuables from your car” and the No Excuse campaigns have dramatically reduced thefts from cars and road accidents. Other measures like the non-emergency number, the use of Asbos and the setting up of home watch have helped to tackle low level crime.

There are still no grounds for complacency. For three successive years, the Dorset Police received the highest proportion of complaints about rudeness of any of the 46 police forces in the country.

Swanage Rural has a higher than average crime rate. Recently, yobs threw litter bins into the sea at Swanage and wrecked the town twinning tree. I mentioned to a councillor that Dorset had the best police force in the country. The response was “God help the rest of the country”

ROBIN BRASHER, High Street, Swanage