Dorset Police has said they are “confident” in their ability to “weed out corruption” within the force.

The comments come after a report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) highlighted areas in which they could approve.

The report noted that, broadly, the force was effective in respect of vetting and counter corruption.

It said, however, "the force doesn’t have effective working relationships with external organisations that support vulnerable people."

Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said the force welcomed the report and had made “significant improvements” since the inspection in March.

She said: “Since the inspection in March 2022 the force has already made significant improvements to in key issues identified. We have modernised our IT systems to help us monitor and pro-actively collect intelligence from desktop and handheld devices, including the acceptable use of apps.

“I am confident that we have adequate capacity in our counter corruption unit and have recently brought in additional resources to help address the issues identified. This has increased the force capability to weed out corruption and deal robustly with those subject to criminal and misconduct offences.”

DCC de Reya added that the organisation would take ‘swift action’ against individuals when standards fall below standard and they were focussed on giving staff confidence to call out behaviour.

She said: “I would like to reassure our communities that none of those officers and staff identified within the national report were found to be in Dorset and our vetting of all officers, staff, volunteers and contractors are up to date.

“The report also identified that the Force is effective at predicting future vetting demand including the additional recruitment of police officers as a result of the national Uplift programme. The Force is developing the improved use of information to monitor protected characteristics to ensure any potential disproportionality in our vetting decisions are identified and responded to accordingly.

“I acknowledge that HMICFRS identified that our counter corruption unit needed to have better links with partner agencies and organisations who support vulnerable people. This is an area we have been working on for some time and I am pleased to say that we are already seeing a significant improvement in working with our partners to support the most vulnerable in our communities.”