All Wales ASB Group
Bringing Community Safety
Partnerships Together to tackle
Anti Social Behaviour
Margaret Brooks
ASB
• ASB is “behaviour that causes or is likely to cause
harassment, alarm or distress to one or more people
who are not in the same household as the perpetrator”
• A wide definition is used allowing the focus to be on
individuals, the victims and perpetrators,
• It has a wide impact: personally, economically and on
social cohesion and development,
• Perpetrators can be any age, it is not just a matter of
‘rowdy’ teenagers,
• The level of ASB reflects the health of a community and
how the reputation of the CSP is regarded.
Partnership working and statutory
obligation to tackle asb
• Partnership working – sharing resources
• Your organisation is already part of the solution to tackling asb
through the Community Safety Partnership which include: Police,
Environmental Health Departments, Youth Offending Team,
Housing, Fire and Rescue Services, Social Services, Probation,
Voluntary and Community organisations
• Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) established following the
publication of the Crime and Disorder Act in 1998 (reviewed in
2006). Section 17 requires local authorities and police to do all that
they can ‘reasonably can to prevent crime and disorder’ in their
Area.
• Statutory guidance issued by Assembly Government in 2005 for the
purposes of s.218A of the Housing Act 1996.
• This act placed a duty on social landlords to prepare an asb policy
and procedures for dealing with asb.
Sharing Information
Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act
1998 provides authorities with a duty to
exchange this information. The
information will be disclosed by way of
justified interference in accordance with
the prevention of crime and disorder as
outlined by Article 8 (2) of the European
Convention.
Minimum Standard for tackling asb
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Working towards prevention of ASB
Not punitive process
ASBO/ enforcement tools should be last resort
Education/ awareness raising/
reassurance/Diversionary
Best practice
Aim to improve services dealing with asb
Empower and engage residents to work with you
to tackle asb
Support for victims and witnesses
Partnership response
STAGE 1: First Warning letter issued (if verbal warning given, this must be followed up with a
letter)
STAGE 2: Second referral to ASB Reduction Coordinator following complaint/incident of
ASB within 6 months
Second warning letter issued and if necessary appropriate officer from Partnership agency to
visit individual to highlight concerns about their involvement with ASB
STAGE 3: Third referral to ASB Reduction Coordinator; case discussed at case conference
Partnership response
Case conference
Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) or Parenting Contract
agreed and signed by both parties, restorative justice,
YISP/Prevention Referral
Monitoring (ASB Reduction Coordinator to coordinate process)
Breaches of contract to be
reported to ASB Reduction
Coordinator
Meeting to discuss
next steps and
enforcement
Extend ABC
Ongoing
discussion at
Problem Solving
Group
Successful completion –
no further reports
Positive feedback letter
Obtain crASBO/ ASBO
N.B. relevant parties must certify that all in agreement for
application
Demotion of tenancy, premise closure, eviction, injunctions
Problem Solving Groups
• Purpose - to bring together appropriate agencies to
coordinate responses to incidents of ASB in
Pembrokeshire
• Responsibilities:
– Monitor overall progress of cases, making decisions regarding
ABCs, Parenting Contracts and ASBOs where necessary
– Act as source of information/advice on ASB cases
– Consider performance information from Police and other relevant
partner agencies in order to identify ASB patterns and trends
– Make recommendations regarding environmental responses to
ASB issues (street lighting, CCTV, layout of street furniture)
– Periodically review ASB processes/procedures in order to ensure
that best practice is adhered to
Case Conferences
• Purpose – to discuss individual case of ASB
• Convened at discretion of Problem Solving Group or
ASB Reduction Coordinator
• Relevant partner agency representatives should attend
• Parents/carers may be invited where appropriate
• Appropriate agencies will be identified to take ownership
for progress of case – coordinated by ASB Reduction
Coordinator
• Actions/details from meeting reported back to ASB team
Hotspots
• Referring agencies provide evidence - held centrally in
case files with ASB team
• Used to produce hotspot lists – locations / victims /
offenders
• Need to collate cross-agency information
• Produce lists of repeat or vulnerable victims and
offenders
Victim focus
• No national guidance, matrix being developed to score
history, vulnerability and support
• Currently working on force-wide definition/criteria for
repeat / vulnerable victims Each CSP introduces a
process for the identification of repeat and vulnerable
victims (by means of the agreed Vulnerability Risk
Assessment) and management of respective action
plans.
• Training for call centre staff
• When call received, visits to repeat victims and offenders
by YOT/ NPT/ Bobby Van etc. where appropriate
• Minimum standards
Minimum standards
Key points:
– Multi agency solutions
– Proportionate responses
– Support for victims
– Community involvement
– Transparency
– Effective Coordination and tasking of ASB incidents
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We are already meeting the
standards – A wide range of
activities
Community Safety Partnership agreement
Antisocial Behaviour landlords policy
Statement of procedures ASB
Departmental referrals
Other agency referrals
ASB toolkit
Standard letters
Tenancy agreements
Tenants Handbook
Allocation policy
Police Strategy
Local Action Plan (PH)
Tenant participation strategy
Antisocial behaviour policy
Equal opportunities policy
Youth intervention policy
Tenants newsletters
Problem solving groups
ASB forums – social landlords
Tenant Panel
Focus groups
Tenant forum
Housing services forum
Area based meetings (CSP/NPT)
YOT, TAC, NP, TIC, SS, Over 15’s services, project Pearl
Tenancy support officers
Visioning days,
Tidy Town
Not in my Neighbourhood Week
SPLASH
Bobby van
Websites for finding out more about ASB (PCC and Home Office launch today)
Informing tenants, homeowners,
businesses
and the public
• Giving people an opportunity to feel a sense of
community with shared values
• ASB and disrespect for people and local environment
are not tolerated.
• Majority of people are not fearful of using public space
and are free to enjoy their homes without disturbance
and or harassment by the minority
• People are confident they have full support of agencies
in challenging unacceptable behaviour
• People are kept informed of action taken to tackle asb
and are encouraged to play an active part in their
communities.
Cost to your organisation
• Changes coming to all organisations with cut
backs of staff, training and capital.
• Changes in legislation
• Changes to legal and court –less availability,
less legal support
• Changes in policing, cutbacks and restructuring
• Sharing costs by sharing resources and
information
• Getting the most out of your partners ie
supporting evidence, statements
• Introduction of Police Commissioners April 2012