Police not backing volunteer patrols

WESTCOUNTRY police force said it will not endorse the activities of volunteers in Bournemouth who have set up a uniformed “force” to patrol the streets, adding a review of their vetting processes highlighted “areas of significant concern’.

- JORDAN REYNOLDS [e-mail]

Safeguard Force, whose volunteers will wear branded bibs, said it aims to create “safer, more supportive communities by providing visible, compassionate and non-confrontational patrols”, which were set to start this month.

The move follows two high-profile murder cases in the town as well as the local police force having to introduce dispersal powers on the seafront after a disturbance involving a “large group of people” on June 30, which left a teenage girl and two officers injured.

Dorset Police said a multi-agency meeting was held with Safeguard Force on Friday and ‘a review of their vetting processes has highlighted areas of significant concern’.