A BOURNEMOUTH MP said he was “surprised at the robustness” of a message sent to a member of the public from an official Dorset Police Facebook page.

In a post on Facebook where a resident expressed to police their concern around parking, the page Bournemouth Police replied: “That isn’t a police issue, it’s a council issue, report it to them, try to force them to do their job.”

MP for Bournemouth West, Conor Burns, brought the reply to police and crime commissioner David Sidwick’s attention.

Mr Burns said: “I was slightly surprised at the robustness in the language to the resident who was clearly frustrated.

“I think agencies should remember when engaging with the public that the public are council tax payers and certainly tax payers and deserve to be treated with a degree of respect.

“It creates a tendency for agencies to blame one another for something not being resolved rather than working in partnership.

“I know [David Sidwick] is trying to engage in a culture change within the police.

“It about getting the police back to the default of serving the public, protecting the public and fighting crime.

“We have a police and crime commissioner who doesn’t see his role as the police’s apologist but a challenger to the police.”

Mr Sidwick said: “I was disappointed to have seen that response from the force, and I asked this to be looked into.

“I was elected on a pledge of improving the connectivity between the police and the public, and that pledge forms one of the key areas of my forthcoming police and crime plan.

“It’s really important that the communication is right - on this occasion, the force appear to have got it wrong, but I’m glad they have acknowledged this now and are providing more support to their officers.

“I’m hoping however, that this can be part of a wider conversation as we seek to improve communication with the public in the future.”

Neighbourhood inspector Darren Harris, of Bournemouth police, said: “We work closely with our partners across a whole range of areas as we look to address the concerns of local communities and the response to this member of the public on social media does not reflect this collaborative approach.

“We support our police officers and police community support officers to do lots of social media posts to engage with our communities and be accessible.

“On this occasion there is clearly some learning, and we will ensure that the individual is given appropriate feedback, support and advice for the future.”