Anti-social behaviour

Before drafting the strategy, we undertook significant early engagement with victims, residents, businesses, former perpetrators, different teams within the council, as well as the police, housing providers and community organisations. This engagement shaped the 5 pillars of our strategy: Prevention, Early Engagement, Supporting Victims, Bringing Perpetrators to Justice and Engaging the Community.

We then consulted on our draft strategy. The key feedback and how we addressed this is below.

Does the strategy take the right approach to prevention?

• You said:

77% agreed with the Prevention strategic approach.

Comments included: you need to clarify the definition of ASB and reduce jargon, there needs to be a recognition that enforcement can be used as a means of prevention.

• We did:

We have created an easy read version of the ASB Strategy, which has eliminated jargon and will help residents with learning difficulties access our strategy. We will produce an ASB information pack for residents, which will be available in the dominant languages within borough. 

We will work with victims and other organisations to quickly identify perpetrators and hold them to account.

We will make people aware of the impact and potential enforcement consequences of being involved in anti-social behaviour.

Does the strategy take the right approach to early intervention?

• You said:

75% agree with the Early Intervention strategic approach.

Comments included: You need to consider why people cause ASB looking at difficult family life or lack of role models, there needs to be more partnership working between organisations and across borders.  You also need more education and mentoring around ASB, particularly around drug use or dealing.

• We did:

We will put support in place to understand why people commit ASB and address these underlying causes, including drug and alcohol dependency, mental health problems or hard family life.

The strategy recognises the importance of partnership working and requires the council to work together with other organisations including the police, housing providers, NHS and community organisations, using all tools available to them. We will strive to give victims the same level of response and support regardless of tenure or type of anti-social behaviour experienced. We will consult with communities over local incidents of ASB to understand what they would like to see happen and design an action plan alongside them.

We will also work with neighbouring boroughs to stop anti-social behaviour where needed.

The strategy focuses on investing in young people from an early age, providing opportunities to do things they are passionate about. As a result of feedback, we added more focus on promoting mentor schemes and positive role models. The council will work with families through schools, youth clubs and social services to highlight the damage that ASB can cause and support people to change their behaviour.

Does the strategy take the right approach to supporting victims?

• You said:

71% agreed with the Supporting Victims strategic approach.

Comments included: those affected by ASB need to be kept updated on their case and should have the opportunity to give feedback on how their cases are handled, agencies need to listen to the victim, the strategy needs to recognise that businesses can also be victims.

• We did:

The council will actively seek feedback from victims on what worked well and what could have been improved. We will share feedback and best practice with other agencies, including housing providers and the police so that we can all continually improve our practices.

We will engage victims throughout their case and let people know how they can work with us to solve their case.

The council will work to make sure that all parts of the council, as well as other agencies, take all victims’ concerns seriously, respond quickly, and give the best possible level of support.

The strategy has been updated to recognise and reflect that businesses can also be victims of ASB.

Does the strategy take the right approach to bring perpetrators to justice?

• You said:

73% agreed with the Bringing Perpetrators to Justice strategic approach.

Comments included: You need to engage with perpetrators as well as victims and understand the reasons from their side.

• We did:

In designing the strategy, we spoke to not only victims, but perpetrators of ASB. We recognise that whilst holding people to account is vital, perpetrators also need support. Through the focus on prevention, we will work with the whole family to understand the root causes of ASB and put support in pace to address them.

Does the strategy take the right approach to engaging communities?

• You said:

80% agreed with the Engaging Communities strategic approach.

Comments included: Would like to see more police or local community officers patrolling estates, victims need to know where to report and have confidence that the council will do something about it, victims need to be kept updated on outcomes of their case, there is a need for in-person support and locations that vulnerable people or victims can go, there were a number of suggestions around use of communications, such as social media, newsletters, easy read versions.

• We did:

Council officers will have a visible presence in our neighbourhoods, to deter ASB and intervene when necessary.

We will use a wide variety of communication methods, including online and in-person support. We will make sure information is easily accessible and culturally appropriate.

All parts of the council will work to make communities aware of issues in their neighbourhood and keep them up to date on action being taken. We will use our own communications channels and work with partners increase people’s awareness of how they can work with us to tackle ASB.

Other comments

• You said:

Some people noted a lack of detail in how the strategy would be achieved.

• We did:

This strategy sets out our approach to tackling anti-social behaviour, rather than specific actions. Our next step is to set up a multi-agency working group to create an action plan that will implement the strategy. Results of this will be published every year.