Anti Social Behaviour

Introduction

Antisocial behaviour causes real misery for people who simply want to get on with their lives. It ranges from serious acts of violence, crime and harassment, to more 'everyday' incidents like noisy dogs or overgrown gardens

Sometimes a neighbour just needs reminding that their behaviour is upsetting. But if the perpetrator is unreasonable, just walk away. Don't get involved in an argument. We can help you and we will deal quickly and efficiently with troublemakers

Hopefully we can sort out obvious problems fairly easily. For example if you tell us about a rubbish-filled garden we simply go round and check. We'll tell the other person to clean it up, and take action against them for breaking their tenancy agreement if they don't. But most cases are not quite so simple. If the antisocial behaviour is less obvious, or if it's aimed directly at you - harassment and abuse for example - we'll need to talk to you before we start an investigation

Investigation

We can meet you at your home, in the housing office or somewhere else. In serious cases we want to meet you within 24 hours. We'll ask you who is affected, how they're affected, where it happens, and when it happens. We'll speak to other people in your household who have been affected too. We'll then draw up an action plan listing what you should do and what we will do to get the problem sorted out. The case is now a partnership - we are working for you, but you must help us by keeping to your side of the action plan

Action Plan

We may need other evidence, like photographs, video or tape recordings. We can sometimes do this for you, but if the incident happens suddenly it may be best if you do it too. We might have to speak to other people who have witnessed the problem. It could be difficult to take the case any further without these other witnesses

Action we can Take

If the evidence confirms the antisocial behaviour we will take action. In very serious cases - where the perpetrator has put you or another person in danger - we'll go straight to legal action. But in most situations we'll take a more step-by-step approach to try to get them to change. We will interview the perpetrator. (You can ask us not to do this, but it could then be difficult to take the case further). We will tell them to change their behaviour or risk legal action. This is enough to solve the vast majority of problems

Legal Action

If antisocial behaviour continues after a final warning - or if someone is in danger - we will start legal action straight away. We will ask the court to give us:

• an injunction - a legal order that instructs the perpetrator to stop acting antisocially; or
• an antisocial behaviour order banning the perpetrator from coming into specific areas; or
  
• permission to evict the responsible tenant (the tenant is responsible for their own behaviour and for the behaviour of anyone living with them or visiting their home).

What to do Next

If you are experiencing Anti Social Behaviour we would like to hear from you. You may not be the only person in the vicinity to be affected, and your experiences will make our case against troublecausers stronger