Earlier this year I visited Middlesbrough and gave a training on the Community Trigger to a few agencies through a Resolve ASB regional meeting. There I learned something rather interesting … and also extremely concerning. One of the delegates told me that in their local area when a Community Trigger is raised, and it relates
What was an occasional question about anti-social behaviour is becoming something of a groundswell of voices as more and more MPs express their concerns. Just in the past week or so debates and questions keep on coming and start to bring into the forefront some of the underlying failings. These are: the impact of cuts
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
Agencies Ignore Victims of Anti-Social Behaviour at their Peril Legislation is ignored and victims of anti-social behaviour continue to be held at arm’s length, a new report finds. Work undertaken by charity ASB Help identifies numerous failing with the Community Trigger, also called the ASB Case Review, introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime
My last blog was about the Switchboard Stress of trying to contact local councils to find out some information about the Community Trigger. A member of the public commented on the post on our Facebook page that they had been one of the people I was concerned about: trying to activate a Community Trigger through
What have Police and Crime Commissioners got to do with anti-social behaviour? Well, we would suggest they have quite a lot to do with it! Firstly, when they run for this elected post, they speak out about how they will help victims of both crime and anti-social behaviour. They also speak out about helping vulnerable
Community Trigger Confusion The more I hear from people who have tried to activate the Community Trigger, the more I must conclude that there is confusion at every level. I had thought the confusion was reserved for the actual victims – something I have documented extensively – from the perplexity of it going by two
I sense there is a rather sketchy distinction going on across the country between anti-social behaviour and a neighbour dispute. At best this is causing confusion. At worst it is leaving innocent, vulnerable victims ignored and without proper support and help. “Nothing was done because it was labelled a neighbour dispute.” Is this a familiar
We believe that there is a fundamental flaw underlying victim empowerment when individuals are dealing with such big organisations like Councils and social landlords. The relationship is so unbalanced that it is easy to see how a victim could be ignored and feel powerless. The Victim’s Voice From our perspective, as a charity seeking to
ASB Help has outlined many of the failings of the Community Trigger (or ASB Case Review) in our report: “The Community Trigger: Empowerment or Bureaucratic Exercise”. However, it is still our belief that it has the potential to make a real difference. Here is a case study which shows how positive results can come out