Anti-social behaviour: Why it is one of the toughest issues to overcome

As a retired copper, and working with Young Offenders, here are some examples and remedies that may help.

To begin with, you will not be alone, if something is upsetting you, it's likely to be irritating many other people. I have been involved in many projects and patrols to quell the issues, but it's not easy.

Youngsters will claim they are bored, it's too expensive to go places and mucking about with their friends is a laugh.

Do they want youth clubs, No. Boring and expensive for the local councils. Hug a hoodie? I wouldn't recommend it. Some areas use loud speakers to play annoying sounds or removing park benches where groups gather. Rain always helps, but I don't know of any rain dances that work.

Each area needs a unique strategy for its specific issues. These issues of ASB can also change over time.

A lot of the ASB doesn’t fall into criminal behaviour and people are aloud to stand/sit in public and drink alcohol.

It’s all about making the area unattractive to attend. Nothing makes an area less desirable than having police patrolling the area. CCTV and well lit areas may work.

First of All:

What is antisocial behaviour?

Antisocial behaviour is defined as 'behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to persons not of the same household as the person' (Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 and Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 ).

There are three main categories for antisocial behaviour, depending on how many people are affected:

Personal antisocial behaviour is when a person targets a specific individual or group.

Nuisance antisocial behaviour is when a person causes trouble, annoyance or suffering to a community.

Environmental antisocial behaviour is when a person’s actions affect the wider environment, such as public spaces or buildings.

Under these main headings antisocial behaviour falls into one of 13 different types:

Vehicle abandoned, Vehicle nuisance, Rowdy or inconsiderate behaviour, Rowdy or nuisance neighbour's, Littering or drugs paraphernalia, Animal problems.Trespassing, Nuisance calls, Street drinking, Activity relating to sex workers or sex working, Nuisance noise, Begging and Misuse of fireworks.

Options:

Civil injunctions

A civil injunction is a civil power to stop a person’s ASB escalating and set a clear standard of behaviour. This power is for perpetrators aged 10 or over and can include prohibitions and positive requirements.

Who can issue or apply for a civil injunction?

A civil injunction can be issued or applied for by: local councils, social landlords, policem Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales

Grounds for issuing:

A civil injunction is issued on the balance of probabilities. It must be just and convenient to grant the injunction to prevent anti-social behaviour, and the respondent must have engaged in or threatened to engage in either: conduct that has or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress (non-housing related anti-social behaviour); or conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance (housing-related anti-social behaviour).

Typical uses: A civil injunction is typically issued for:

drug/alcohol-related ASB, harassment, noise (tenure-neutral), vandalism, aggressive begging

Criminal behaviour order

A criminal behaviour order is a court order that tackles ASB. It is applied for following a conviction for any criminal offence and can include prohibitions and positive requirements.

Who can issue or apply for a criminal behaviour order?

A criminal behaviour order can be issued or applied for by the prosecution. In most cases this is the Crown Prosecution Service, either at its own initiative, or following a request from the police or council.

Grounds for issuing

A criminal behaviour order is issued when the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the offender has engaged in behaviour that has caused or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person; and the court considers that making the order will help prevent the offender from engaging in such behaviour.

It can include exclusion zones, non-associations, curfews, positive requirements (drug/alcohol support).

Dispersal powers

A dispersal power is the power to direct a person to leave a specific location for up to 48 hours if authorised by a police inspector or above. A direction can be given to anyone who is, or appears to be, over the age of 10.

Who can issue or apply for dispersal powers? Dispersal powers can be issued or applied for by police, including police community support officers (PCSOs) in some forces.

Grounds for issuing

The officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect that the behaviour of the person has contributed or is likely to contribute to members of the public in the locality being harassed, alarmed or distress.

Methods:

Here are some ways to deal with anti-social behavior (ASB):

Contact the police: You can call 999 in an emergency or 101 for non-emergencies. You can also report ASB online.

Contact your local authority: You can contact your local authority to report ASB.

Contact your housing provider: You can contact your social housing landlord to report ASB.

Approach the other party: If it's safe to do so, you can try to speak to the person causing the ASB and explain how it's affecting you.

Keep a diary: You can keep a diary of what happens to help provide evidence.

Use recording equipment: You might be asked to use recording equipment in your property to record noise.

Request an ASB case review: You can request an ASB case review if you've made at least three complaints in the previous six months. The review will involve your landlord, the council, and the police.

Consider mediation: You can consider bringing in a mediator to help both parties reach an agreement.

Get support: You can get support from organisations like Victim Support or Rise. There isn’t an easy answer to this problem. It’s about trying new methods and measuring the outcomes, then adapting them.

ASB advice