What is anti-social behaviour?
Anti-social behaviour is any intimidating or threatening
activity that scares you or badly affects
your quality of life.
Examples include:
- Rowdy or noisy behaviour
- Vandalism
- Graffiti
- Fly-tipping rubbish
- Aggressive begging
- Street drinking
- Setting off fireworks late at night.
Other types of anti-social behaviour
People loitering on the street waiting for drug
dealers can also be perceived as anti-social
behaviour. Drug dealing is a crime – but sometimes it’s
first reported as anti-social behaviour. Such threatening behaviour
causes alarm and distress for the people it affects, and that is
why it is vitally important that it is dealt with.
Not all anti-social behaviour issues are solved by police -
other agencies including the Police Authority, local councils and
housing authorities have a big role to play, which is why we work
together to tackle them. Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships
are in place to ensure your problems and concerns about anti-social
behaviour are heard and tackled in your area.
Due to the work we have already done, the residents of Cheshire
are feeling more confident about reporting anti-social behaviour,
because they believe something will be done.
Why is anti-social behaviour a problem?
Anti-social behaviour makes life unpleasant, and creates a
climate of fear for the community. Often more serious crime
can occur as a result of anti-social behaviour.
How we deal with anti-social behaviour
When we receive a call about anti-social behaviour, we may not
send an officer straight away, as can often be the case with
anti-social behaviour, the problem has stopped by the time the call
has been made. In some cases we do attend straight away. In other
cases, an appointment is made for a neighbourhood officer to visit
at a later time. People can also arrange to meet officers at the
police station.
Our Police Community Support Officers and
council staff target anti-social behaviour in
local parks. Joint patrols, set up with youth services, lead to the
seizure of alcohol from young people. Youth workers engage those
involved, getting them signed up to activities that divert them
away from causing trouble.
Where the behaviour is of a more serious nature, formal
enforcement such as Acceptable Behaviour
Contracts (ABCs) and Anti-Social
Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) will be considered. This involves a
variety of people from different organisations working with victims
to record and collect evidence of the offending behaviour.
Restorative justice
Common sense policing can also be used in the
form of restorative
justice. This means that the offender can meet the
victim in an arranged situation to discuss the crime, why it took
place and how it made the offender and victim feel. This
encourages the offender to acknowledge the
impact of what their actions have done, whilst offering
the victim some closure and the opportunity to make the offender
aware of the personal harm they have caused