What is anti-social behaviour (ASB)?
We believe our customers should feel safe and secure in their home and local community without suffering from the anti-social activities of others. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) includes a wide range of behaviour that causes nuisance or annoyance to our residents, our employees and others living or working in the community.
We define ASB in line with the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 as follows:
• Conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person
• Conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises
How we deal with ASB
ASB can affect some people more than others so we always look at the individual’s experience and the impact the behaviour is creating. To do this, we deal with reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) quickly and effectively, applying a victim-centred, problem-solving approach and working with residents, Police and local agencies to tackle and prevent ASB.
The image below shows successful enforcement actions carried out last year. Without your evidence and support, it would be difficult to achieve these results, so thank you for working with us.
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How do I report ASB?
You can report ASB by calling us on 0800 032 2433 or filling out our customer contact form here.
Where the ASB is related to noise, we may ask you to keep a log of all noise incidents using our diary sheet and/or noise app.
Other residents of the neighbourhood who wish to report ASB issues about one of our customers, you can also report using the same methods.
If you are in immediate danger and your life is threatened, a crime is in progress or people are injured you should dial 999.
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Can I report ASB anonymously?
Yes, any customer can report ASB anonmously. However, please be aware that it can prove difficult to investigate and gather evidence without access to full details.
For serious incidents of ASB, this can report anonymously to the police via Crimestoppers at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously
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How do I report a neighbour who is taking or smoking drugs?
You should report your concerns to the police in the first instance as they have statutory powers to investigate allegations of drug use. To do so please call your local safer neighbourhood team (SNT) or contact then via their website.
Once you have reported this to the police, please contact us on 0800 032 2433 or via our customer contact form on our website. Our housing team will investigate your concerns working alongside the police.
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What are examples of ASB?
- Harassment, including hate incidents.
- Violence or threatening behaviour.
- Criminal behaviour, including drug use or dealing.
- Persistent and or serious threats or verbal abuse.
- Persistent and or serious neighbour noise (however, we recognise not all noise reports can be classed as ASB)
- Nuisance relating to animals.
- Vandalism or Damage to property
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What isn’t considered ASB?
We do not investigate one-off incidents (unless there’s a crime or abuse reported to the police or another agency) or routine daily sounds and activities such as:
- cooking smells
- reasonable DIY
- someone parking unlawfully outside your home
- BBQs in private gardens.
We handle domestic abuse through a separate Domestic Abuse Policy.
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What happens when someone reports ASB?
An Initial Reporting Form (IRF) will be completed with the customer or reporting party to identify the problem, those affected, and all risks involved. Following an IRF being completed we will provide the reporting party with help and advice and give clear advice about what we can do to help.
In some cases, we may not be able to share information about the specific action taken if it would be considered a breach of GDPR. All high-risk cases, cases involving suspected fraud and cases which involve vulnerable children or adults will be referred to our Housing team to be investigated.
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How do you deal with hate incidents and/or hate crimes?
Hate crime can fall into 3 main types:
- physical assault
- verbal abuse
- incitement to hatred.
We are committed to tackling all forms of hate incidents and/or hate crimes that target people that are either actual or perceived based on their age, disability, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation or any other protected characteristic outlined in the Equality Act 2010.
We encourage customers to report all forms of hate incidents and/or hate crimes to the police in the first instance and to us. We will work in partnership with other agencies to investigate and resolve it. (We will take a victim-centered approach to dealing with reported incidents - this line is not needed)
Our ASB Toolkit
Our ASB Toolkit includes information on different types of ASB and how we work with you to address them,
Our ASB Policy
Our ASB Policy outlines our approach to supporting customers in preventing and tackling ASB.