Safety and policing focus for second meeting of Bournemouth Town Centre Citizens' Panel

Bournemouth Town Centre Citizens' Panel met for a second time and were joined by a Dorset Police Sergeant with a focus on safety.

The panel, launched by Jessica Toale MP in partnership with BCP Council Leader Millie Earl, worked together to understand the challenges around policing and discuss perception of crime versus actual crime statistics with Sergeant Paul Harding.

Panellists got an insight into the challenges of policing the town, the initiatives launched to target certain crimes and antisocial behaviour and discussed what more is needed. There was also a recognition of the fact it is not only down to the police to help keep the town centre safe, but other organisations such as the council.

The 40+ strong group was then divided into smaller groups to head out to different areas of the town - including the beach, Square, Triangle and Old Christchurch Road - to find something that's working well, something that could be improved and something surprising.

Led by Richard Eastham from Bournemouth-based Feria Urbanism, the panel sessions are designed to engage a representative group of local residents with the ongoing process to revive the town centre.

Set up earlier this year, the panel will - by the end of the year - have completed five interactive sessions at Patch on the first floor of Bobby's and come up with a deliverable action plan at the end. The residents were selected at random out of almost 250 applicants of all ages and backgrounds to reflect the demographic make up of the Bournemouth area.

Panellist Esma Turkami, who studied at Bournemouth University, said after the session: "It was really fun, really collaborative. Everyone had a chance to speak and share honest opinions."

Panellist Jane Rose added: "One of my favourite things about this was the opportunity we had to go out in small groups and to explore our local environment and we had some unexpected moments and spotted things we can sometimes walk past in our day-to-day life, some of the good things that are happening in Bournemouth!"

Jessica said: "This was another brilliant session. A chance for us to come together and really delve into what the town centre currently looks like, how we'd like it to look and how we might get from here to there. As well as thanking every single panellist for putting in the time to work on this, I'd like to thank Dorset Police for coming to speak to the panel, and for their ongoing role in keeping our town safe."

The next session will take place in September, with a further two planned for October and November 2025.

If you aren't on the panel but want to share your thoughts and ideas about Bournemouth Town Centre, please complete this form and we'll be in touch.