Antisocial Behaviour

What is antisocial behaviour?

We understand that antisocial behaviour can have a devastating effect on your life, especially as most incidents occur close to or at a victims’ home.

Antisocial behaviour includes activity such as:

• nuisance, rowdy or inconsiderate neighbours;
• vandalism and graffiti;
• street drinking;
• environmental damage including littering, dumping of rubbish and abandonment of cars;
• misuse of fireworks; and
• inconsiderate or inappropriate use of vehicles.

It’s important to know how to report ongoing antisocial behaviour, so that it can be stopped. 

Reporting antisocial behaviour

The police, local authorities and other community safety partner agencies, such as the Fire and Rescue service and social housing landlords, all have a responsibility to deal with antisocial behaviour.

If you think a crime has been committed, you should report it to the police. If you don’t think the antisocial behaviour you’re experiencing is a crime, depending on your personal circumstances, you can report it to:

• your landlord, who should ensure that their tenants aren’t behaving in such a way that they are in breach of their tenancy agreement; or
• your local council, e.g. housing, environmental health or an antisocial behaviour team if they have one.

You may have to provide evidence of any antisocial behaviour before action can be taken. These can include actions such as keeping a diary of things that happen or recording noise nuisance. Take advice from your local authority or the police, depending on who you speak to, as to what they think is the best way to stop this behaviour from happening. 

How we can support you

If you have experienced antisocial behaviour as a crime, we can:

• provide emotional support, either over the phone or face to face;
• speak with all those involved on your behalf;
• keep you up to date with what is being done by the police and other agencies;
• help you understand the process of tackling crime and antisocial behaviour, which can take a long time;
• give you advice about your personal safety and home security;
• support you in mediation to try to resolve the problem;
• signpost or refer you to other agencies and services that can also offer help;
• provide support if a case goes to court; and
• help you undertake restorative justice.

If the antisocial behaviour you have experienced isn’t a crime, we will support you while we refer you to specialist antisocial behaviour services in your borough.

If you’d like to speak to us about the help and support we can provide, contact us.