With thousands of people expected to visit Dorset this Bank Holiday weekend and the following days, Dorset Police is hoping everyone will endeavour to stay safe.

Big events include the Bournemouth 7s rugby event, Quayside music festival in Weymouth and Christchurch Food Festival.

The Force’s summer policing operation which was launched in May aims to keep visitors and residents safe during the summer by carrying out high-visibility patrols and introducing measures to prevent crime occurring in the first place.

A series of targeted campaigns have been launched including Operation Relentless, which aims to drive down anti-social behaviour (ASB) through high-visibility patrols in known hotspot locations across the county.

Other campaigns include the ‘Don’t regret your night out’ violent crime campaign, which reinforces the dangers of mixing alcohol and violence and the consequences for those who do. Operation Vigilant will see plain clothed and uniform officers patrolling Bournemouth town centre to identify individuals who may be displaying signs of unacceptable behaviour, such as sexual harassment, inappropriate touching and loitering.

Other initiatives are underway to target drink and drug driving, child sexual exploitation and county lines drug dealing.

Dorset Police’s summer policing gold commander chief superintendent Mark Callaghan said: “To date this summer has been very busy and we are continuing to work closely with our partner agencies to help keep people safe.

“Over the coming weeks we have some key events taking place and I am reminding people to make sure they look out for themselves and each other. Representatives from Dorset Police, BCP Council and Dorset Council, as well as the RNLI and fire service are all out there along our beaches and in our communities and can be approached by anyone who needs help or is worried about someone else.

“Our Force, as well as other emergency service colleagues, have already experienced high levels of demand this year with more people choosing to enjoy staycations in Dorset. We continue to ask visitors and residents to help us by using our online channels when reporting a non-emergency, rather than calling 101. Whichever way you contact us, your enquiry will be dealt with by a member of staff.”

Online options include making an enquiry online, requesting a call back or using the Report Crime Online function at dorset.police.uk. You can also email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk. In an emergency always dial 999.