In the media: Discussing noise complaints and neighbour disputes


ASB Help are featured in this weeks Scottish Sunday Express, discussing the significant increase in noise complaints, neighbour disputes and public nuisance calls. ASB Help reported an increase in complaints of 25%-300% across the board, with most of these related to noise.

Read the full article here - Scottish Sunday Express article


Our website also contains lots of information and advice regarding noise and neighbour disputes.

Noise


Nightingale Taskforces

ASB Help has opened a national conversation about ASB management and suggested the concept of Nightingale Taskforces.

More information can be found here: Nightingale Taskforces

The open letter to the UK Home Secretary can be found here: Open Letter


A good example of practitioners using the Community Trigger...

ASB Help are very proud of PS Wyn Jones of Northamptonshire Police for being the first police officer we know of to activate the Community Trigger for a case of anti-social behaviour in his area. PS Jones recognised the benefits of the Community Trigger and by invoking it himself, the case is being managed collaboratively by every partner agency in the area promptly and proactively. Be ahead of the curve and follow in the footsteps of PS Jones.

Join our ASB Pledge here

Learn more about the Community Trigger here

 


Be part of our ASB Pledge!

Thank you Solihull Community Housing for hosting me this week to talk to you about the PLEDGE. Very encouraging that we have so many partners wanting to take the PLEDGE and work with ASB Help on promoting the voice of victim’s of anti-social behaviour. Particular thanks to Victim Support in Plymouth, Hyde Housing, Sheffield City Council, Leicestershire Police, Stoke City Council and Surrey Police….Be part of this campaign and get in touch with ASB Help today to find out more about how we can help you to deliver the best service to your residents.

You can find out more information on the Pledge here

 


A Pilkington Malaise? Have We Really Learnt the Lessons for 2020?

We talk a lot about the deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca Hardwick; how their legacy informed the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and as a cautionary tale to practitioners. But have we really understood the lessons from the Pilkington tragedy and how to apply them in 2020?


‘I am sick of hearing about Fiona Pilkington’. This was a comment I overhead a practitioner mutter during a training session on safeguarding. I was stunned and appalled by the comment. But when I thought about it more, I realised an unintended consequence of the Pilkington case, as a case study for practitioners, is that it represents a big stick: if you fail in your duties you could be the focus of a serious case review. I wonder if a combination of the Pilkington name, the shame it brought on all those involved and the threat of professional disgrace has created a toxic combination of Pilkington malaise; a sense that if we don’t cover our back, we could be compelled to attend the Coroner’s Court and lose our jobs. If that is the case, it signals a culture of working to preserve reputation rather than in the best interests of victims. By virtue, the lessons we should have learnt are being obscured by a fear that is motivating our interactions with victims to mitigate against reputational damage rather than to find resolution for victims of anti-social behaviour.

It is easy to see how the legacy of austerity, an increase in anti-social behaviour and the inter-dependency on other agencies to do their part, often reluctantly, means practitioners are finding it difficult to manage their caseload, let alone really look and understand how anti-social behaviour is affecting victims.


Last week I visited the street where Fiona Pilkington lived with her family. I made this visit with practitioner eyes; expecting to see the tell-tale signs of deprivation, social exclusion and the imprint of anti-social residents; graffiti, neglected gardens, rubbish and abandoned vehicles. What I found took me by surprise, because Bardon Road is a nice street. It looks and feels nice. It appeared to me that the potential of this street has been unlocked; residents are investing in their homes and making improvements to them. It was difficult to reconcile what I saw and what I know about what happened there 13 years ago.

Bardon Road, December 2019

The visit to Bardon Road was a valuable learning opportunity. It reminded me that managing anti-social behaviour is never what you expect it to be. We naturally form judgements and sometimes these are arbitrary. I considered how many practitioners assumed Fiona Pilkington lived in a local authority property when in fact she owned her own home? I could see how that dimension alone could have influenced how her case was approached by practitioners.

After my visit to Bardon Road, I spoke with victims who have contacted ASB Help or the Victim’s Commissioner for advice because they feel agencies are not helping them to bring an end to the anti-social behaviour they are experiencing.  When I listened to the victim’s accounts, I heard the echoes of the Fiona Pilkington serious case review. Multiple calls to the Police, different officers attending, the occasional verbal or harassment warning to the perpetrator, letters to MP’s and that all-encompassing despair felt by victims and their family members daily.


In the cases I have heard, just in the last two weeks, I question if any lessons have been learnt from the Pilkington tragedy. In every case I listened to, I could identify multiple interventions that either the Police, Local Authority or Landlord could utilise from the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. But none of these interventions have even been discussed and the only consistent theme is the issuing of a verbal or harassment warning, just as in the case of Fiona Pilkington. And is this intervention designed to help the victim or to enable the practitioner to evidence they have made a positive intervention? Are they just covering their backs?                                                        Or are these practitioners encountering a professional despair? Working in a system that is broken, resource deprived and set in its ways of viewing anti-social behaviour as a secondary issue to crime? If the Pilkington case should tell us anything, it is that the harm caused by anti-social behaviour is real and it destroys lives, like any crime has the potential to do.


How can we apply the legacy of the Pilkington case in managing anti-social behaviour today?

 

  1. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 gave practitioners tools that are not being used to full effect. We must remember these tools came into existence because they were identified as necessary in part because of the Pilkington case. Our work with Police Forces and Local Authorities shows us there is a reluctance to use civil powers to manage anti-social behaviour for multiple reasons; a criminal law mindset, the costs associated with legal action, the potential for reputational damage should a legal intervention be challenged, a reluctance to work collaboratively with other agencies to share the cost and risk of using the tools available. WE MUST EMBRACE THE TOOLKIT WE HAVE.
  2. Anti-Social Behaviour is about understanding and managing the many dimensions of human behaviour which has been influenced by a multitude of factors including trauma, dependency and mental health concerns. To find a solution to most cases, we must work creatively and collaboratively. This means embarking on a cultural shift that enables practitioners to work holistically and take risks. How many Police Forces have even applied for a Part 1 Civil Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction?
  3. If you truly want to put victims first, practitioners must be prepared to challenge the consensus. Most practitioners want to do the right thing for the victim, and they come unstuck because partner agencies are unwilling to work collaboratively. In these cases, practitioners can advise victims to invoke the Community Trigger to request a review of their case or A PRACTITIONER CAN INVOKE THE COMMUNITY TRIGGER ON BEHALF OF THE VICTIM.
  4. Organisations should embrace the benefits of the Community Trigger rather than view it as a bad thing. The process is not about apportioning blame. It is about working with every stakeholder to find a resolution for the victim and mitigate against an escalation. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM YOUR MORAL AND LEGAL DUTY WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITY.
  5. A vital lesson from the Pilkington case is that we must make it easy for victims to be heard. We should all bear the responsibility of showing victims that they have the right to be heard and the Community Trigger is their statutory right to request that. Crucially, we must not treat each incident in isolation and fail to appreciate the cumulative impact on the victim. This was highlighted in the Pilkington serious case review but my interaction with victims recently shows a reluctance to join the dots.
  6. All agencies should be proactive in establishing a pathway to support victims from the outset of their complaints about anti-social behaviour. The Pilkington case review shows us that determining a victim’s vulnerability cannot be adduced correctly from a five-minute visit to an address and based on the persons appearance and responses during that short interaction. Victims must be afforded the time and opportunity to speak with someone supportively about how the anti-social behaviour is affecting them and their family.
  7. We must be embedded in our communities and foster a spirit of vigilance so that residents can speak on behalf of victims and be listened to. My recent visit to Bardon Road shows how easy it is to form an incorrect opinion based on what a place looks like. We know from the serious case review that officers deployed resources to a different area because the anti-social behaviour on Bardon Road appeared insignificant compared to other streets where the traditional tell tales signs were unavoidable. Anti-social behaviour is nuanced and arguably more so today with the emergence of sophisticated organised crime groups. We must all be prepared to scratch the surface, ask questions, be present on a street and work with partners to gather and share intelligence. Only that way can an objective assessment of a case be made, and the victims be seen and heard.

 

There will be new practitioners entering the work-place in 2020 who have never heard the name Fiona Pilkington. There will be experienced practitioners who hear the name Fiona Pilkington and give a sigh because they have caught the Pilkington malaise. WE MUST NOT LET THIS HAPPEN. We all have a responsibility to learn the lessons and consolidate them by applying them to anti-social behaviour trends in 2020.

You can read the serious case review here 

You can read about the Community Trigger and our new ASB Help PLEDGE on our website

Contact us here 


Will you take the pledge?

The ASB Pledge


Following a successful pilot, The ASB Help PLEDGE is now available for all organisations.

ASB Help is committed to giving victims of anti-social behaviour a voice. We identified that by working directly with authorities responsible for managing the Community Trigger, and their partner agencies, we could advise them on best practice and help them to shape their policies and procedures to ensure victims of anti-social behaviour can easily invoke their statutory right to a review of their case. And crucially, that once activated, the Community Trigger brings about purposeful action to bring an end to the anti-social behaviour.

We know that some organisations don’t embrace the Community Trigger. This may be because they feel the process will reflect badly on their organisation or they have not been shown the opportunities the process can bring to the victim and agencies in the area to work collaboratively and resolve serious cases of anti-social behaviour once and for all.

ASB Help established the ASB Help PLEDGE to challenge faulty ideas around the Community Trigger and help organisations to create robust and inclusive policies that will make it easier for victims to invoke the Community Trigger and enable all stakeholders in the community to play an active role in resolving entrenched anti-social behaviour.

Embracing the Community Trigger process is everyone’s opportunity to take back control of anti-social behaviour in their community and make it a better place to live.

In the last six months, ASB Help has been working with a Local Authority on a pilot of the ASB Help PLEDGE. Using ASB Help’s self-assessment tool, every component of their existing policy and standard practices were scrutinised and tested for being victim focused and conducive to resolving anti-social behaviour. Having an honest conversation about their current practice led to an appreciation that change was required. In just under 6 months, the Authority has fundamentally reshaped how they manage the Community Trigger. Changes have included internal staff training, creating a directory of contacts in partner agencies, identifying potential Community Trigger Chairs for review meetings and raising awareness in the community about the Community Trigger and how it can be invoked to ensure the most vulnerable victims know they have the right to request it. ASB Help has provided the Authority with template documents which deal with issues such as information sharing, how Community Trigger meetings should be managed, the suite of interventions available for managing cases of anti-social behaviour and guidance on how to ensure the victim is supported and represented throughout the process.

Following this successful pilot, we invite all Authorities with responsibility for the Community Trigger, as well as partner agencies managing anti-social behaviour, to sign up to the ASB Help PLEDGE.

Show your commitment to victims today and see more about what you are pledging to do and how it will help your organisation be ahead of the curve in community safety.

You can view the Pledge here, and the Pledge FAQ's here 

 


Ministry of Justice consultation

The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation into the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposed-changes-to-the-victims-code/

The MoJ says:

The Victims' Code sets out the rights that victims of crime in England & Wales should receive. Under the code, all victims of crime – whether they choose to report it or not – are entitled to a range of support and information. To ensure the Code better meets victims’ needs, the MoJ is consulting on proposals which will give victims a louder voice in the process, ensure that they are better heard through their journey in the criminal justice system, and make sure they can access the support they need.

Victims of Anti-Social Behaviour

What about victims of anti-social behaviour?  They do not even fall in the scope of the review. The Ministry of Justice works from the basis of it being only for victims of crime.

We would argue that being a victim of repeat, persistent anti-social behaviour can actually cause more distress and require more support than being a victim of some crimes.  It is also a case that we all cope differently with both ASB and crime.  As such the focus should be on the needs and vulnerabilities of the victim, not whether the behaviour they have been subjected to has crossed into the definition of crime.

At the very least, we would suggest that victims of anti-social behaviour who have requested an ASB multi-case review under the Community Trigger, should be entitled to rights and support under the Victims' Code.

We think it is unfair that funding to give victims practical and emotional support is ringfenced only for victims of crime.  Let's not forget that a victim of anti-social behaviour coming forward to receive emotional support may in fact lead to uncovering hidden crime from the ASB perpetrators.  Timely support for victims of anti-social behaviour and an encouragement of early intervention techniques can also prevent crime from developing in the first place.

Get Involved in the Ministry of Justice consultation

We have made our voice heard in this Ministry of Justice consultation.  We invite you to also.  https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposed-changes-to-the-victims-code/ Deadline for contributions is 11 September 2019.


Housing Associations and the Community Trigger

Much of our work on the Community Trigger has focused on councils and police, mainly because they represent the lead agency across England and Wales.  However, housing associations are a key player in Community Safety and named as one of the relevant bodies in the Community Trigger legislation.  What are housing associations doing to promote it then?

Large Housing Associations

A sample of the really large housing associations brought in disappointing results.  All of the following have no information on the Community Trigger (also called the ASB Case Review):

  • London and Quadrant Housing
  • Clarion Housing
  • Home Group Housing
  • Sanctuary Housing
  • Guinness Partnership
  • Riverside Housing
  • Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (2 separate websites)

Clarion Housing claims on its website to be the largest housing association in the country, owning and managing 125,000 homes over 170 local authorities, representing 360,000.  That is 360,000 tenants who are not being informed about the Community Trigger.  Housing association websites direct people to the police for some types of anti-social behaviour but miss an opportunity to let their tenants know what to do if the police do nothing about it (or the council or indeed the housing association itself).  This is concerning.

Locally Led

Some housing associations tell me they cannot put information on the Community Trigger on their website because they have houses in more than one local authority area and of course the way it is activated differs from one area to another.  There are some easy ways around this:

Regenda Housing give information about the Community Trigger and a link to the government website to find your nearest local authority.  Unfortunately this will fall down at the last hurdle because where the police is the lead agency, the local council tends not to publish any information about the Trigger.

A much better way can be seen in One Housing who have been wonderfully proactive in setting up a specific Community Trigger email address for victims, explaining that they will then forward it onto the relevant local authority.  Some lead agencies don't even bother setting up a specific email address or giving a direct telephone number so this is impressive from One Housing.

An alternative would be to link into our Community Trigger Directory so that victims can easily search for their local area and find the exact page they need on the council or police website.  It is important that all tenants of registered providers of social housing know that this safety net is available to them.  We encourage all housing associations to look at adding this important information to their website.  Don't forget housing associations can also activate a Community Trigger on the victim's behalf to push a case review and get something done about the anti-social behaviour.


How it Affects Me

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) can affect every area of your life especially when you live next-door to it.

When you report the ASB you need to clearly describe the impact it is having on your life.  The more you can spell out how it is affecting your quality of life and your daily routine the more notice local agencies are going to take.

Example

Recently a victim asked me to take a look at their Community Trigger application.  They had summarised in just one sentence the fact that they had needed to move into different rooms to try and reduce the impact of the noise from the neighbour.  My advice was to really spell out the impact.

The application mentioned disturbed sleep.  I advised them to expand on how this affected their work as well as general health.  They had a son studying for exams which was also definitely worth emphasising.

How is the Behaviour Affecting You?

Noise can simply be a nuisance, and council officers know that.  Yet noise (and any anti-social behaviour) can also be so much more, impacting on health, employment, education, emotional wellbeing and relationships.  A police officer told me recently about a victim who is on their final warning at work because the ASB is impacting on their ability to do their job.

So when reporting an incident of anti-social behaviour, and especially a Community Trigger application, ask yourself:

  • How has this behaviour affected by quality of life?
  • How is it impacting on my health?
  • Is it interfering with my work or my education?
  • How has this behaviour impacted on my daily routine?
  • How do I feel each day or each time it happens?
  • Has it negatively impacted on my family or friends, for example meaning I cannot have people round to visit?

These questions should help you draw out all the ways you are being affected and the harm caused.

Be specific.  Spell it out and do not let agencies belittle what is happening to you.