More than 100 innovative ideas have been pitched to Dorset Police to be developed and transform the force.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill and Chief Constable James Vaughan set up the one million pound Innovation Fund in spring 2019, using money that had come from a combination of reserves and efficiency savings.

People from across the force were encouraged to come up with ideas and an Innovation Board was established to decide whether they were feasible.

Now, a report to the Police and Crime Panel – hosted by Dorset Council and aimed at scrutinising the work of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner – has revealed that more than 100 bids were submitted over the first year.

Just over a third of these have already been turned into projects that are now up and running, with another 45 per cent now being developed.

Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill said: “Many of these schemes have taken just months from being suggested by an officer or member of staff to being developed into working projects which are making a real difference.

“Police forces need to innovate in order to meet the challenges the future will throw at us, and this fund is already proving invaluable by taking the best ideas from the front line and turning them into new ways of fighting crime and keeping people safe.”

Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “To enable us to respond and adapt to emerging and new crimes, it is imperative that we are innovative and agile. We have a fantastic talented and diverse workforce and we have empowered them to come up with new ideas to bring about change.

“Some of our greatest new ways of working have come directly from our officers and staff and it is thanks to their input that we have been able to make a difference to our workforce, as well as implement new initiatives that help support the communities we serve.”

The bids include the county’s first police cadet service as well as a bobby van, which was launched earlier this year and provides security measures to residents who have been victims of multiple burglaries.

A system in which statements from victims or witnesses of crime can be taken over the phone, and emailed across so they can be signed via a secure platform has also been developed

The fund also set up an automated facility giving initial advice and links to support services to victims of domestic abuse and a trial joint response unit, crewed by a police officer and a paramedic, was set up to run over a three month period and has already been deployed to more than 40 incidents in which both a police officer and a paramedic would normally have been dispatched.