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
Good Initiatives; On the beat and getting results:
Many people call for visible police patrols in their local community to try and improve community safety. In Weymouth, two uniformed officers have been doing exactly that.
Weymouth and Portland Borough Council worked with Dorset police, British Transport Police, Dorset County Council and the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner to set up Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, which employed specially trained officers to help reduce Anti-Social Behaviour. The training issued was thorough and included security checks, body armour and training to enable them to carry out police and council enforcement powers, such as enforcing the Public Space Protection Order. The Public Space Protection Order gives officers certain powers such as being able to place restrictions on individuals that persistently commit anti-social behaviour.
Since January 2019, the officers have issued 27 verbal warnings, 7 Community Protection notices, 3 alcohol seizes and removed 7 lots of abandoned property.
Kat and Sam, the two patrol officers working on this initiative say that everyday is different, with them encouraging people to come up to them and “talk to us, especially if anything has made you feel unsafe”. They added that they are “building up a good rapport with local people, traders and the homeless community. We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour”. In addition to anti-social behaviour, they also see people who are in crisis or suffering from mental health problems, and they help them to find the services they need.
With ongoing problems across the country with the 101 number it has become very difficult for people to raise issues of anti-social behaviour. The constant presence of Kat and Sam makes a huge difference in bridging the gap between large agencies like the police and council, and individual victims. Sometimes victims are not sure who to talk to, or how bad the behaviour really is, or what can be done about it. Seeking out Kat and Sam to ask these questions is a great bonus for the people of Weymouth and something we would love to see happen elsewhere. It is also great to have the continuity of the same officers who gave a notice or order, be the ones to witness any potential breach and take the necessary action.
It is clear more visible patrols work, as the officers can work with numerous different agencies in order to get a variety of training and skills, build a rapport with local members of the Community and take a proactive approach to dealing with Community Safety.
Read the article here: https://www.wessexfm.com/news/dorset-news/2840142/on-the-beat-and-getting-results/
See our page on Excellent nitiatives for more examples of local community initiatives which have helped improve community safety and anti-social behaviour.