£120,000 Raised for PC Lorne Castle, While Confidence in Dorset Police Plummets?

When robust frontline policing is punished and hesitation is rewarded, something has gone badly wrong, and the public knows it

Support for PC Lorne Castle continues to surge. As of this morning (16th June) the GoFundMe campaign set up to support him and his family has exceeded £120,000.

Among the donations is an anonymous gift of a whopping £10,000! A clear indication that this story has touched a nerve with people far beyond the emergency services community.

What started as an outcry has now become a reckoning.

In the latest public update, Castle wrote:

“I am absolutely in awe of the support and wonderful comments that this GoFundMe has brought in. I can’t express my thanks enough — every donation and every message means so much to me and my family.

“Our future is not certain — this has really knocked me and I am not sure I can ever be the person I was before, but I will try my best. I am not sure what job role I could hold or obtain after this.

“The fallout from this will be life-changing. But with the fund, I will be able to have new options and a bit of breathing space financially. I will keep everyone updated — but truly, thank you from all my family.”

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It’s a raw, powerful message. And it’s one that highlights the real human cost of what happened. Castle, a life-saving decorated officer with ten years of service, didn’t just lose his job. He lost his footing. His future. His identity.

And for what?

For raising his voice and using firm language while detaining a 15 year old carrying a lethal knife, a weapon capable of killing someone in seconds. There is no denying that Castle temporarily lost his cool. It is something he has openly acknowledged. But the way this life saving officer was treated has, judging by the outpouring of support for Lorne, deeply angered the decent minded sections of our nation.

Let’s not forget the impact this has had on Lorne’s wife and their three young daughters. For the past 18 months, they’ve had to watch as their husband and father, a man they know as brave, kind, and committed, was suspended from the job he once loved.

They’ve seen him return home each day carrying the weight of uncertainty, the stress of being sidelined, and the fear of what might come next. Then came the dismissal. For any family, that would be devastating. But in this case, it came not because Lorne hurt anyone or broke the law, but because he raised his voice while detaining a teenager who had a knife.

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A knife that could have easily ended a life. Were it not for the overwhelming support of the public and his colleagues, Lorne’s family would now be facing a financial crisis as well as an emotional one. And officers up and down the country with young children of their own will now be asking themselves a chilling question: if I step in to stop a violent suspect tomorrow, will I be next?

The decision to sack him hasn’t just alienated the hardworking policing community. It has stunned the nation. It confirms what many frontline officers have long suspected: that some forces, including Dorset, appear more focused on the optics of how officers do their jobs than whether they are actually doing them. It is a trend we have been reporting on for more than six years and one that shows no signs of slowing.

This is not a lone opinion…

Premium section below:

In the section that follows, we take a closer look at the powerful criticism levelled at Dorset Police by its own former Police and Crime Commissioner, Martyn Underhill, who has accused the force of losing sight of its core mission.

We also explore the findings of a damning new report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, which paints a concerning picture of a force overwhelmed and under-equipped to manage serious and organised crime, including knife offences.

As always, we’re incredibly grateful to our premium subscribers, whose support keeps this newsletter running. We don’t carry advertising, so it’s your backing that allows us to keep reporting on what is really happening on the front line of the emergency services and criminal justice system If you’d like to unlock the rest of this piece and join the discussion, consider becoming a paid subscriber today.