Have you been a victim of anti-social behaviour and do you think it's a big problem?

These are among the questions being posed in a new survey which has been launched.

It comes from the Dorset’s Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill who wants to know about residents' experiences to gain a broader understanding of the issue across the county.

He said: “Anti-social behaviour can make people’s day to day lives a misery and can have a devastating impact on individuals and communities.

“I’ve heard many stories about people’s lives being ruined by incidents of nuisance and disorder, so I’m launching the survey to understand the problem in more detail.”

The survey will also look into what types of anti social behaviour residents think Dorset Police should prioritise.

The police take responsibility for certain kinds of anti-social behaviour – such as threatening or drunken behaviour and buying drugs on the street – with organisations such as local authorities and housing associations dealing with a range of other incidents, such as barking dogs and noisy neighbours.

The survey will also look into people’s understanding of which organisations they should contact when reporting different types of anti social behaviour.

Findings will be used to plan future strategies helping the police work with organisations to tackle the problem as well as to brief the county’s next Police and Crime Commissioner after forthcoming elections.

Mr Underhill previously announced he would not stand in the elections, which were originally supposed to take place in May but were postponed until May 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He added: “We’re trying to get responses from as wide a range of people as possible – including people who have been victims of anti social behaviour as well as those who may have been perpetrators. It’s also important that we get the views of younger people, as they are often affected by many of these problems."

To complete to survey visit www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/G9CJLQ2