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You can report ASB to us by clicking here and filling out our online form, your report will be sent to your resident services officer and they will contact you shortly, or you can phone us 24/7 on 0800 169 56 86.
We are committed to dealing with antisocial behaviour (ASB) quickly. We will do everything we can to tell residents what standards of behaviour we expect from them and explain the action we will take if their behaviour falls below these standards.
We take reports of nuisance and ASB seriously and we thoroughly investigate incidents that are reported to us. If necessary, we will take appropriate action. We work with the police, other community agencies and residents to deal with the people responsible for antisocial behaviour and we help people who are affected by it.
What is antisocial behaviour?
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act, 2003 defines antisocial behaviour as:
Conduct which is capable of causing a nuisance or annoyance to any person and directly or indirectly relates to or affects the housing management functions of a relevant landlord. Conduct which consists of or involves using or threatening to use housing accommodation owned or managed by a relevant landlord for an unlawful purpose.
We believe the following activities could be classed as ASB.
- Racial and homophobic harassment
- Intimidation and harassment
- Domestic violence
- Aggressive and threatening language
- Aggressive and threatening behaviour
- Actual violence against people and property
- Using a property to sell drugs
- Using a property for other illegal purposes
- Noise nuisance
- Misusing public areas
This is not a complete list but it does give examples of what we can class as ASB.
To help us to continually review how we deal with antisocial behaviour, a forum of residents meets regularly to see how we can improve our service on ASB. If you would like more information on this or would like to get involved, please contact us.
More information
If you think you may be a victim of antisocial behaviour and want more advice, please phone our ASB hotline on 01202 460338. You can also report antisocial behaviour through our online form.
The Respect Standard for Housing Management
We have signed up to something called the ‘Respect Standard for housing management’, part of the Government’s Respect Agenda. By signing up we want to show that we are committed to doing all we can to put a stop to unacceptable behaviour in your community. To meet the Respect Standard we need to:
- take issues of antisocial behaviour (ASB) and respect seriously
- involve residents in the decisions we make and work together to sort out issues
- do all we can to prevent ASB happening in the first place
- provide an individual and sensitive approach to support everyone who reports issues to us use our legal powers, where necessary, to put a stop to ASB and make sure our staff are well-trained to do this, and
- provide support to those who are acting in an antisocial way and help them find long-term solutions and turn their lives around.
To mark the start of our involvement with the Respect Standard, we held an official launch in November 2007 with staff and residents who were informed about our future plans.
We have already made improvements such as updating our policy and procedures on antisocial behaviour and introduced a new ASB hotline. A new plan will also help us meet the ‘Respect Standard’. This includes actions like:
- using more ‘good neighbour agreements’ to promote respectful behaviour
- improving our links with partner agencies in areas where we have lots of homes
- providing more advice and support if you are experiencing ASB
- investing money in the community to help divert people from ASB
- providing more support to those at risk of taking part in ASB, and
- improving training for staff so they are better skilled to deal with all aspects of ASB.
You have our word that we are committed. Are you?
More information
Respect – a community approach to tackling unacceptable behaviour
Visit the ‘Respect’ website at www.respect.gov.uk, www.communities.gov.uk or call Winston Nelson, Resident Services Manager on 01202 460332.
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