CRIME in Dorset has rocketed by nearly 10 per cent in the last year, latest figures have revealed.

Violent crime, racial incidents and homophobic crimes have all risen by more than a quarter.

And the force has met just one of the five targets it set for the year.

Figures to be presented to Dorset Police Authority members this week make grim reading and show the county is not as safe as it used to be in relation to other force areas.

Dorset is now the sixth safest county in England and Wales for violent crime, 11th for domestic burglaries, 13th for robberies and 19th for vehicle crime.

But the figures have been dismissed as "a slight rise in crime" by Chief Constable Jane Stichbury who claimed Dorset is "a very safe place in which to live and work."

Figures for the year to the end of March reveal overall crime has risen by 9.2 per cent to a huge 54,951 offences. A force target aimed for a two per cent reduction.

Violent crime increased by 25 per cent to 5,776 offences, burglary by two per cent to 3,346 and vehicle crime by 1.6 per cent to 9,811.

Targets to reduce burglary and vehicle crime were not met, nor was a target to respond to emergency calls within a set time.

Only one target, to reduce the number of road accidents involving death or serious injury, was reached with a 3.3 per cent reduction.

The number of detections, however, did improve by 16.7 per cent overall and were seized upon by Mrs Stichbury.

"Overall it has been a challenging year and a very good year for the number of detections and the detection rate, which have both improved," she said. "More criminals are being caught in Dorset which helps us sustain the county's position as a very safe place in which to live and work."

The figures will be discussed by members of the Police Authority's Audit and Perfomance Review Committee at their meeting on Thursday.