Tackling Anti Social Behaviour

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Tackling Anti Social Behaviour

We believe that everyone has the right to enjoy their home, free from nuisance or anti-social behaviour. We know the distress that this type of behaviour can cause to individuals and communities, and we take reports of anti-social behaviour very seriously. We aim to:

actively discourage anti-social behaviour
reduce problems associated with anti-social behaviour
take positive action against, or on behalf of residents, when anti-social behaviour occurs.

What is anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour has been defined as ‘any behaviour that causes nuisance or annoyance to someone’. Some examples include:

noise (for example, loud music, shouting and arguing, dogs barking)
using or threatening to use violence
verbal abuse
any form of harassment, including harassment due to race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or belief
domestic violence
using a home for criminal or illegal purposes
uncontrolled animals
criminal damage and vandalism, including graffiti
intimidating behaviour
alcohol or drug abuse
throwing missiles
abandoned vehicles
fly-tipping and untidy gardens
misuse of public/communal areas

How can I report an incident?

You can report an incident of anti-social behaviour in writing, in person or by telephoning one of our offices or someone can report it for you.

Your responsibilities

You are responsible for your behaviour, the behaviour of your children; anyone else living in your home and anyone visiting you.

How to deal with anti social behaviour?

If possible, it is always best to try to sort out the problem yourself. Try talking to your neighbour and discuss your concerns with them in a reasonable and polite manner. Most neighbours will respond to a reasonable request and it is better to approach them first and try to work things out between you.

If this approach doesn’t work, or you feel unable or are frightened to talk to your neighbour, contact your housing officer who will try to help you.

What will happen when I make a complaint?

We aim to respond to reports of anti-social behaviour quickly and confidentially. If you are reporting a serious incident, we will arrange to talk to you within 24 hours. Otherwise, we will talk to you within five working days.

You can choose where we talk to you. It can be at your home, at our office, or over the telephone. Everything we talk about will be confidential and will not be discussed with anyone else without your permission.

We will ask you what has been happening and we will need to know the dates and times of incidents and who was involved.

What happens next?

What happens next depends on the type of incident you are reporting and what action you want us to take. We can:

visit or write to the person you are complaining about
visit other neighbours or witnesses to get their views
ask you and your neighbours to keep a written record of problems
gather other evidence
involve other agencies, for example the police or local environmental health department
prepare a case file to help with possible legal action in the future
take no further action - if there is not enough evidence or if you do not want us to take any action at this stage

Your housing officer will agree a plan of action with you. We will keep you informed of the progress we make and any decisions we take. We will always do our best to deal with incidents in a positive way so that you don’t experience further problems.

What action can you take?

There are a number of steps we can take, but what we do depends on how bad the anti-social behaviour is and how much evidence we have. Examples of what we can do include:

giving the perpetrator an informal warning
interviewing the perpetrator and giving them a formal warning
offering mediation services to help those involved come to an agreement
using an acceptable behaviour contract or a parenting order
looking at legal remedies such as injunctions and anti-social behaviour orders (a court order to stop the behaviour) or demotion orders (where we can change the tenancy to a one-year agreement which we can end without going to court if the behaviour continues)
working with partner agencies such as the local council or the police
taking action to evict the perpetrator

What can I do to help?

You will first need to sign a statement containing information about the type of anti-social behaviour you have been experiencing. To help us build a case, you will need to keep in regular contact with us and tell us about new incidents. It is also important that you keep a diary to record further incidents. This will be a vital piece of evidence should we decide to take legal action. If legal proceedings are taken, you may have to make a statement and, in some circumstances, go to a court hearing.

What if I don’t want to make a statement or give evidence?

We will always respect your wishes but if we have no other evidence we may not be able to take any further action. If you are prepared to keep records and make statements we will support you throughout the process. We can provide extra security to your home, let the police know about your situation, provide emotional support and advice throughout the legal process and go with you to court.

Can anyone else help me?

If you think your neighbour is involved in crime, you should contact the police. You should also contact the police if you are threatened. If you don’t want to speak to them directly, you can give them information anonymously by contacting Crimestoppers.

Your local environmental health service may be able to help you if you have a problem with unreasonable noise such as loud music, dogs barking constantly or air pollution from bonfires or burning rubbish. You will find their number in the phone book.

What can I expect from you?

You can expect the following service standards from us:

we will aim to contact you within 24 hours of receiving a report of anti-social behaviour
we will talk to you within five working days about your situation
in more serious cases, and if you agree, we will aim to visit you within 24 hours to discuss the situation
if you agree, we will visit the perpetrator within five working days of discussing the situation with you
in more serious cases, if you agree, we will aim to visit the perpetrator within 24 hours of discussing the situation with you
we will aim to remove racist and offensive graffiti within 24 hours and other graffiti within three working days
we will aim to repair serious damage to property caused by anti-social behaviour within 24 hours, and within five working days in less serious case