Anti-social behaviour and disorder
Anti-social behaviour: Policy and Procedure
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Content of Statement of Policies
The statement should include types of conducts that constitute as anti-social behaviour (ASB), as well as examples.
A list of examples could include:
Noise nuisance (e.g., loud parties, shouting, noise from TVs, radios, hi-fi's and burglar alarms);
Intimidation and harassment
Local environmental quality issues (e.g. litter, dog fouling, graffiti, fly tipping and nuisance vehicles) or
Aggressive and threatening language and behaviour
Actual violence against people and property
Hate behaviour that targets members of identified groups because of their perceived differences (e.g. race and ethnicity, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, mental health or disability)
Using housing accommodation to sell drugs, or for other unlawful purposes.
General policy statement of approach to anti-social behaviour
This should set out the landlord's aims, attitude and general approach to anti-social behaviour (e.g. what is acceptable). This may include specific commitments the landlord is making to its tenants or the wider community.
The strategic context
The Statement should set out the strategic context of the landlord's policies and procedures on ASB, and how they relate to existing statutory obligations. This should include the relationship between the landlord's policies and procedures and the priorities of the relevant Crime Reduction and Disorder Partnership.
Obligations of tenants
Landlords should set out the standards of behaviour that are expected of tenants and their guests.
Specific policies to be included in the Statement of Policy
Examples of the types of policy landlords should consider including are set out below.
Support of complainants and witnesses
Keeping them informed of any developments relating to their complaint and referring them to appropriate support services, where necessary.
Put the safety and well being of witnesses first.
The Statement of Policy should set out the landlord's policy on the provision of support to witnesses throughout all stages of the process from report, to court, remedy and beyond;
Professional witness schemes
Involving the use of trained volunteers from staff and partnership contacts to gather evidence of ASB that they have witnessed and to support witnesses. The schemes allow greater flexibility in the gathering of evidence in court cases, especially when witnesses of ASB are reluctant to provide evidence in court proceedings. If a landlord has a professional witness scheme, then policies relating to the scheme should be included in the Statement of Policy.
Racial and other Harassment Policies
Policy and procedural commitments to:
Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment
Promote good relations between people of different racial groups
Maximise the reporting of incidents that are racially motivated
Support complainants and their families
Take action against perpetrators.
Domestic violence policy
Reflecting the landlords policies on dealing with domestic violence.
Prevention of ASB
Policies should set out the range of initiatives and the general purpose of those initiatives to prevent ASB. Examples of such measures include the following:
Mediation services provided directly by the landlord or in conjunction with another agency
Uniformed warden patrols
Diversionary projects for youths such as football clubs or IT drop-in centres
Reward schemes for tenants with a record of a well conducted tenancy
Structured interviewing of juveniles to establish ways forward in tackling their behaviour
Use of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts
Multi-agency partnerships
Floating support/tenancy support schemes
Designing out Crime.
Rehabilitation of perpetrators and support for vulnerable groups
Landlords should consider the positive impact that support might have on perpetrators especially in cases of ASB that are consequences of: Drug use; Alcohol use; Mental health and Disability.
The policy for support might include:
The role of multi-agency partnerships
Delineation of key roles and responsibilities
Protocols and planning
Multi-agency partnerships
Multi-agency partnerships involve landlords working with residents and local agencies such as the police, neighbourhood wardens, youth offending teams, schools, health services, drug action teams, social services and probation services.
Working with other organisations managing local authority housing
ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organsiations), TMOs (Tenant Management Organisations) or housing management contractors should be involved in the preparation of the authority's policies and procedures as these may be involved in housing management responsibilities.
It is important that housing management service providers are clear about their roles and responsibilities and there are robust working arrangements in place covering procedures for information sharing, handling and monitoring complaints and dealing with perpetrators.
Data protection and information exchange
Tackling anti-social behaviour requires robust information exchange between agencies. The Statement of Policy should outline what protocols the landlord has in place for sharing information with other agencies, the type of information that might be shared, with whom, and for what purposes.
Sharing information with tenants and the wider community
Publicity can reassure tenants and the wider community that action is being taken to tackle ASB.
Confidentiality
The landlord's policy on confidentiality, particularly in relation to the identity of complainants and whether their permission will be sought prior to the disclosure of information to the perpetrator, legal representatives or other interested parties.
Cross-tenure issues
Landlords may act to protect owner-occupiers or those in other tenures from the actions of tenants, and equally, may take action against people in other tenures to protect their tenants. The Statement of Policy should reflect their strategic and operational involvement in such cross tenure approaches.
Protection of staff
Details should be provided on how the landlord will protect staff from abuse and the legal remedies which may be used to protect them.
Training of staff to deal with ASB
Details of landlord's training programmes in respect of ASB.
Information on other relevant policies
Including:
related policies, such as how the authority proposes to take into account 'unacceptable behaviour' in allocating its property, or
other policies, which do not specifically relate to ASB, for example, equal opportunities policies, tenant participation and consultation strategies.
Last update: 26 August 2004