Currently we are developing a closer collaboration with Dorset Police. In doing so, we have jointly commissioned research which shows what Dorset could be like in 2020.

Previous decades have seen huge advances in knowledge and technology opening up new opportunities for the way we live and work. There have also been significant shifts within society and in the challenges we face to our security, safety and the environment. We need to ensure that Dorset Fire and Rescue Service is equipped both to help shape the environment in which we will be operating in the future, and to respond to challenges and opportunities that are outside our control.

To do this effectively, we have to look further into the future than we perhaps have in the past. We need to assess, for the whole of the Dorset sub-region which include the areas covered by Dorset County Council and the Unitary Councils of Bournemouth and Poole, how they will be affected by future changes. We need to try and work out what it will be like to live in our area in the future and the possible safety implications in what will be a very different Dorset than it is now.

Safer 2020 is based on research that brings together trends, scenarios, forecasts and aspirations looking at the future. No one can guarantee what the future will be like and Safer 2020 suggests a series of wide reaching scenarios that are designed to stimulate discussion and challenge assumptions. This will enable us to develop more informed plans - not just for next year but for many years to come and make Dorset an even safer place to live, work and visit.

Click on the following link to view the Research Report, which is validated by over 20 of our Partners.

If you would like to discuss the findings in the Research Report or want to comment on them, please contact our Corporate Planning Manager, Mr Robert Ford, on 01305 252615 or by email at robert.ford@dorsetfire.gov.uk.