Tackling anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour is any aggressive, intimidating or destructive behaviour that damages or destroys another person's quality of life. We work closely with the police, local authorities, courts and all the other partner agencies to identify and stamp out this type of offending. 

 A lot of the behaviour that is classed as anti-social is criminal offences (e.g. graffiting a wall without permission of the owner is criminal damage).  Some behaviour is not criminal but none the less can have an awful effect on the community.  Where this type of behaviour is targeted at individuals or a specific group within a community, the effect can be devastating and intimidating.  While anti-social behaviour is frequently linked to children, adults of all ages are also responsible.

Our part in tackling anti-social behaviour is to identify when criminal offences have been committed and to prosecute them in the courts, making sure we inform the courts of the impact the offences have on individuals.  At the same time we will work with the police, local authorities, landlords and any other agency which has influence over the person who is causing grief to the community to find a permanent way of stopping that behaviour.  Sometimes this will result in an application for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO). 

The sole purpose of the ASBO is to order the offender to stop acting in a way which causes distress to the community.  For example it could bar them from returning to the area where they have caused problems.

Where this Order is breached, we will prosecute the breach as a criminal offence and continue to work with the other agencies to find ways of permanently stopping the behaviour.