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Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy

The strategic approach described on this page is currently under review.

Forward

Addressing the public's concerns about levels of anti-social behaviour has emerged as one of the top two priorities for the Safer Block of the Warwickshire Local Area Agreement. Anti-social behaviour affects the quality of life of our citizens, impacts directly upon levels of fear of crime and is linked with several crime types, including criminal damage, arson and harassment.

There is an expectation on all partners involved in Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to consider anti-social behaviour when developing Partnership Plans.

A multi-agency conference has therefore developed a strategy to address these concerns and a task and finish group has produced an action plan to ensure the delivery of the strategy. All key partners have been involved in this process.

This strategy and accompanying action plan have the support of all members of Warwickshire Safer Communities Partnership. Its fundamental aim is to improve the quality of life for people across the county by tackling the causes and effects of anti-social behaviour in individuals, families and communities.

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National strategic context

Warwickshire's ASB strategy was developed in 2008, based on the policies and guidelines set by the previous administration. The strategy runs until March 2011, at which point a new ASB strategy will be published taking into account any changes to the ASB landscape introduced by the coalition government. The information below sets out what the national context was at the time of writing the original ASB strategy in 2008

The Government's 'Respect' Agenda

The Government launched the 'Respect' Action Plan in January 2006. Its proposals recognised that as well as enforcement, we need to focus on the causes of anti-social behaviour, which lie in families, schools and communities. The action plan identified four main areas that need to be addressed:

  • Parenting.
  • School attendance and behaviour.
  • Community factors - areas where there is disorder, neglect and peer involvement in anti-social behaviour.
  • Individual factors - drug and alcohol misuse, mental health issues and a culture where involvement in ASB is endemic through generations.

Some of the proposals included in the plan were:

  • Quicker and better provision for excluded young people.
  • A 'Respect' Standard for Housing Management.
  • Parenting and Intensive Family Support.
  • Mechanisms to improve community confidence.
  • Powers for the Police to act against reckless drivers of mini-motor bikes.

Most of the actions from the Respect Action Plan around schools and improving attendance and behaviour were introduced through the Education and Inspection Act 2006, for implementation from Spring 2007.

The Youth Taskforce

In October 2007 the Respect Taskforce was moved to the Department of Children, Schools and Families and renamed the Youth Taskforce. This Taskforce continues to focus on the causes and the prevention of ASB, while also broadening its remit to deliver an expansion of positive activities and reform of services for young people.

In March 2008, the Youth Taskforce Action Plan was launched, with a focus on three key areas around ASB:

  • Tough enforcement where behaviour is unacceptable or illegal.
  • Non-negotiable support to address the underlying causes of poor behaviour.
  • Better prevention to tackle problems before they become serious and entrenched, and to prevent problems arising in the first place.

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The current position

What are the current issues in Warwickshire?

  • ASB is a major concern to the people of Warwickshire – and is identified as a priority through Safer Neighbourhood Teams in an estimated 75% of areas.
  • ASB is identified as a high priority in both the local strategic assessments and the countywide risk assessment. The reduction of ASB (including criminal damage and arson) has been adopted as one of the six priorities of the Safer Communities Block in the new LAA. It will be measured through National Indicator 21: 'Dealing with local concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime by the local council and police.'
  • ASB is identified through the police recording system with 31,348 incidents recorded in 2007/08. There was a 6% increase in ASB incidents reported in Warwickshire in 2007/08 compared to 2006/07.
  • Levels of ASB remain highest in Nuneaton and Bedworth, with 9,620 incidents recorded in 2007/08. Nuneaton and Bedworth saw the largest increase in the level of ASB (12%), followed by Stratford (11%). Rugby was the only area to witness a decrease in the levels of ASB between 2006/07 and 2007/08, with the number of incidents reported falling by 3%.
  • 54% of the ASB incidents reported to Police in 2007/08 were for rowdy and inconsiderate behaviour, and analysis shows that incidents logged in this category are often linked to young people.
  • Analysis of Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service (WFRS) data shows 1,202 incidents of deliberate small fires (arson) occurred in 2007/08, with 44% of these occurring in Nuneaton and Bedworth. Significant numbers of reports are also received from Nuneaton and Bedworth concerning violence and aggression towards fire fighters, although measures put in place in recent months have gone someway towards alleviating this issue.

More detailed analysis of all these issues is available.

What are we doing already to address this agenda?

Measures to address ASB are already in place across a range of agencies in Warwickshire. Details of the provision available can be found in Appendix A.

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Our approaches

How will we approach this agenda?

We recognise that our job as public services is to recognise and understand the problems that engulf people and develop effective approaches to deal with these problems at the earliest possible stage. Greater integrated working practices between agencies should be developed through the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework and development of Targeted Youth Support Strategies.

We define ASB as “behaviour which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more people who are not in the same household as the perpetrator”, and we include the following behaviours in our definition of ASB: animal-related incidents, begging, firework-related incidents, hoax calls, malicious communications, noise, prostitution and related incidents, rowdy/nuisance behaviour (making up the majority of calls to Warwickshire Police relating to ASB), street drinking, substance misuse, trespass and vehicle- related incidents.

Underpinning our strategy we have agreed the following principles. We aim to:

  • balance enforcement of standards with provision of support for the individuals, families and communities involved;
  • focus on prevention and causes of ASB, recognising that both short and long-term measures will be necessary;
  • work in partnership to ensure co-ordinated approaches, focusing on what works and sharing good practice;
  • listen to the individuals and communities affected by ASB and avoid demonising any sections of the community;
  • ensure early intervention where problems occur;
  • target effort on deprived areas and groups that are most affected by the negative consequences of ASB, to ensure work undertaken has the maximum possible impact;
  • make restorative processes a major plank of our enforcement activity.

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Strategic priorities

What are our priorities?

Our top six priorities, not given in a priority order, are:

  • Parenting – challenging and supporting families through the promotion of existing services, both universal and targeted, and an increase in support where required.
  • Education/Schools – a range of measures under this priority are linked through the implementation of the Safer Schools Programme and the roll out of the Common assessment Framework process around the county.
  • Community Factors and Environmental Improvements – this covers elements designed to improve the visual appearance of an area and increase the quality of life for all residents, for example visual audits and work on littering and graffiti.
  • Alcohol and Drugs - identified as being integral to the causes of a wide range of issues that fall within this programme of work. Measures will include a balance of support, education and enforcement.
  • Preventative / Diversionary Interventions - this relates to the wide range of activity, not purely focusing upon young people for whom intervention and diversion are seen as useful.
  • Enforcement Activity – this will need to involve the range of agencies with the power to take enforcement action and be balanced with the provision of support and early intervention.

Additionally we acknowledge the need to address a range of underpinning issues. These include communication, analysis, information exchange and the development of a shared information management system.

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2010-2011 action plan

The countywide ASB action plan sits alongside this document and has been developed through a multi-agency Task and Finish Group. This features a section for each of the priorities detailed above and will be revised annually based on analysis and partner input.

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Strategic links

There are clear between this strategy and a range of countywide, district/borough level and local documents including:

  • Local Area Agreement
  • Children and Young Persons Plan
  • Targeted Youth Support Strategy
  • Local Criminal Justice Board plans
  • Safer Schools Partnership Strategy
  • CDRP Partnership Plans
  • The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy
  • Safer Neighbourhood Area Local Action Plans
  • Housing and Leisure Strategies
  • Partners' Corporate Strategies
  • Policing Plan
  • Local Community Plans
  • WCC Parenting Strategy
  • WCC Arson Reduction Strategy

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Performance framework

Performance in relation to the Local Area Agreement priority: 'tackling anti-social behaviour (including criminal damage and arson)' will be measured through the LAA Delivery Plan and reported quarterly to the Warwickshire Safer Communities Partnership and annually to WCC's Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Performance in relation to each specific action in the ASB Action Plan will be assessed quarterly and reported to the Crime and Disorder Management Group, with an overall evaluation of the plan taking place at the end of the financial year and being made available to all partner agencies.

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Appendix A: Current provision to address anti-social behaviour

Partners employ a range of tools to tackle nuisance issues including: mediation, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs), injunctions, Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and Fixed Penalty Notices for disorder.

Each CDRP in Warwickshire receives funding from the Area Based Grant which can be spent on ASB. This funding is used for targeting ASB hot spots and co-ordinating information and activity to prevent and deter further anti-social behaviour.

Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire CDRPs have ASB Nuisance Support Administrators, Rugby has an ASB Support Post and Warwick and Stratford District Councils employ ASB Officers who coordinate a joint agency response including all advisory and warning letters and ABCs. They work with Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and hold surgeries in the Police Stations each week.

Partners have worked together to establish Community Forums (which are replacing Partner and Communities Together (PACT) panels) to enable communities to speak directly with the relevant agencies. ASB is the most frequently raised concern at these meetings.

District and borough councils

District and Boroughs Councils / Arms Length Management Organisations are implementing the Housing Management Standard introduced through the 'Respect' agenda. They are at different stages in relation to this (e.g. holding discussions with tenants and building into current good practice).

Housing departments also undertake a range of work to engage tenants in addressing ASB, e.g. tenant involvement in developing ASB policies, tenant and resident panel meetings, funds for tenants to make estate improvements, estate walkabouts, adaptations to tenancy agreements to reflect behaviour issues, neighbourhood wardens to manage communal areas and implementation of complaints procedures.

Districts and Boroughs carry out work on the environment and streetscape to act on environmental issues (graffiti, litter, dog fouling etc) and support a wide range of Community Development activities e.g. projects for young people and intergenerational work. They also provide a variety of positive diversionary activities for young people, particularly in the school holidays.

District and Borough Councils also hold licensing powers which impact upon ASB in three areas:

  • The Licensing Act 2003 covers liquor licensing, regulated entertainment and late night refreshment outlets. Districts and Boroughs can impose conditions on licences and review them, but only after representations from interested parties or responsible authorities. There are 2 inter-agency bodies in Warwickshire, working to same scheme. They consider complaints made about premises and whether there is a need for a review. A central database of complaints is managed by Police.
  • Taxi Licensing – Districts and Boroughs vet drivers and have positive sanctions they can apply to them in appropriate circumstances, e.g. revocation or suspension of licence.
  • Gambling - a new Gambling Act came into force on 1st September 2007. The Gambling Commission will be principal enforcers of some of its objectives.

The Police

With partners, Police have introduced Neighbourhood Policing, significantly increasing resources through the recruitment of 139 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). From 2008, 5 dedicated ASB PCSO's funded by Warwickshire County Council, will work to address public concerns about ASB.

Police have also worked with partners to provide victims and witnesses with a quality support service through the justice system. New partnership working includes the provision of Justice Centres and the implementation of the Victim & Witness Information Partnership (VIP), led by the Local Criminal Justice Board and staffed by partners including the Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Probation, Youth Offending Service and Victim Support.

They have piloted a Safer Schools Programme in Nuneaton and this has now been expanded to run countywide.

Warwickshire County Council directorates

Adult Health and Community Services Directorate (AHCS) (now People Group)

The Trading Standards Service.

The government's drive to reduce violent crime and tackle anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol has provided a focus for the Service's activities.

The Licensing Act 2003 places a duty on the local weights and measures authority (through the Trading Standards Service) to enforce the law relating to underage sales of alcohol.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 introduced a power to restrict the sale of aerosol paints to children under 16. The main objective of this piece of legislation is to reduce the incidence of criminal damage caused by acts of graffiti and limit the opportunity for children under 16 to obtain spray paints.

The Trading Standards Service must consider the extent of underage sales of aerosol paint once a year, and to take appropriate enforcement action where necessary.

Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards Service delivers the enforcement of this legislation by:

  • Intelligence led test purchasing campaigns
  • Multi-agency and partnership working
  • The investigation of complaints
  • The provision of advice, information and support for businesses;
  • Publicity and promotional activities.

Children Young People and Families Directorate (CYPF) (now People Group)

CYPF includes the following teams, all of whom contribute to this area of work:

  • Youth and Community Service, including Outdoor Education.
  • Positive about Young People.
  • Teenage Pregnancy and Sexual Health (Respect Yourself Campaign).
  • Youth Offending Service.
  • Young People's Substance Misuse Service.
  • Connexions Service.
  • Warwickshire Children and Voluntary Youth Service.

The Warwickshire Youth Offer aims to provide young people with four levels of service:

  • Universal - for all young people.
  • Prevention/targeted - this can be particular projects or particular work within a universal group.
  • Complex - where additional support is required.
  • Acute/specialised - with referral into a lead treatment agency.

Youth Offending Service (YOS) provision includes:

  • Dedicated parenting workers support families and parents of young people at risk of offending or those subject to an ASBO. YOS mental health and substance misuse staff support this work.
  • Dedicated staff working with school students to maintain or reintegrate them into education provision, and others working with 16-18 year olds not in education, training or employment.
  • Two 'supporting neighbourhood' posts to support District and Borough ASB strategies.
  • The management and supervision of Individual Support Orders. These are made by the court, attached to ASBOs made on young people and require a plan of support and supervision.
  • The enforcement of court orders in Youth and Crown Courts.
  • Restorative justice processes for young offenders and victims.
  • Court duty officer role in ASBO applications relating to young people.

The Youth Service provides a wide range of activities for young people, promotes volunteering and participation opportunities and engages those who may not attend traditional sessions through detached and outreach youth workers.

Connexions provide targeted activities and Positive Activities for Young People support local strategies to engage 'hard to reach' groups.

Positive about Young People provision includes:

  • A 13 Plus Project in Nuneaton and Bedworth for young people subject to orders or requiring diversion from anti-social behaviour;
  • A Youth Inclusion Support Programme, providing a whole family approach to working with children, young people and families;
  • Crimebeat - an initiative which encourages young people to identify community safety issues and to develop projects to tackle them;
  • A Mentoring Programme which provides a wide range of volunteer mentors to support young people, parents and carers;
  • PODS - the Positive Operational Drop-In Strategy, with 32 Active PODS;
  • Hub 119 Ltd delivers a range of play experiences for children and young people;
  • Partners Holiday Activity Programme in agreed priority areas across Warwickshire;
  • The Basics of Success home tutoring project to support and help students to improve basic skills, literacy and numeracy, and to promote family learning;
  • Active Strategy to Reduce Accidents (A.S.T.R.A) in 12 schools aims to reduce road casualties through education.

The CYPF directorate of WCC is also currently developing a Behaviour Strategy.

Community Protection Directorate (now Communities Group)

The Community Safety team worked with partners to develop the previous ASB strategy, undertakes area-based project work to support PACTs/Community Forums where possible and has coordinated three countywide ASB related projects: the development of a countywide case management recording system, the development of a county-wide protocol for dealing with ASB and the development of recommendations in relation to mediation services for dealing with especially difficult community cases.

The Fire Service provides several schemes for young people, including diversionary activity through Young Fire Fighters, targeted work with young people through the Firebreak and FLARE programmes and a schools programme for Key Stage 4 pupils. They also team up with Warwickshire Police and local youth & community services in Nuneaton and Rugby to form Anti Social Behaviour Intervention Teams (ASBIT) (currently developing into a new service following evaluation of the ASBIT initiative). Partnership work is also undertaken around arson reduction, with the creation of an Arson Task Force and the relocation of the Arson Reduction Manager to the Warwickshire Justice Centre in Nuneaton.

Environment and Economy Directorate (now Communities Group)

Work in the Environment and Economy Directorate contributes to a reduction in ASB in a number of ways: WCC Highways department work with partner authorities to address hotspot areas for graffiti. An extensive programme of streetscape painting has been carried out in town centres over the past five years to improve their appearance and discourage graffiti.

An increasing number of vehicles operating home to school transport are now equipped with CCTV for the safety, security and comfort of bus users. When isolated incidents of deliberate damage occur, CCTV technology is used to identify the culprits. The full costs of the damage can then be recovered and the police notified.

Opportunities Centres offer young people from disadvantaged communities a range of training in vocational skills to qualification level. This training is offered to complement mainstream education in most cases and as a re-engagement tool where the young person is not fully engaging with the education system. On completion of the qualification, support and assistance is offered to enable the young person to move into higher-level training or search for suitable employment.

Performance and Development Directorate (now Resources Group)

WCC's Press Office staff publicise approaches to ASB, focusing on successful targeted interventions and prevention work. They issue regular news releases focussed on enabling and empowering young people and celebrating positive achievements, but have also carried stories in Warwickshire View about enforcement measures undertaken. They also support police initiatives such as Safer Neighbourhoods. The Partnerships and Communities team facilitate all Community Forum meetings.

Resources Directorate (now Resources Group)

Work of the Resources Directorate can contribute to the reduction of ASB in the following ways:

  • Designing out the potential for ASB in new build properties, extensions and refurbishments, in partnership with Police Architectural Liaison Officers.
  • Robust security and monitoring of empty, surplus property.
  • Exploring opportunities to provide facilities for children and young people on WCC sites with spare capacity, especially in rural communities.
  • Ensuring construction sites are safe and secure, with measures and good practice to discourage ASB.

Warwickshire Observatory

The Warwickshire Observatory provides a centre of excellence in research, data collection and analysis, supporting evidence-based policy-making across the public sector in Warwickshire.

In support of Crime and Community Safety the Observatory team houses a Crime and Community Safety Research Officer and two Safer Neighbourhood Analysts. Their role is to provide high-quality analysis of anti-social behaviour and also the fear of anti-social behaviour in order to assist partners in developing and targeting interventions.

Probation

The Probation Service provide graffiti and litter removal, defensive planting, clean up campaigns and other environmental improvements through their Unpaid Work Unit.

The Voluntary and Community Sector

Community groups support local people in a range of ways, giving them the confidence to be able to tackle an issue. Neighbourhood Watch are active in engaging the local community to help ensure a local feeling of safety and provide reassurance. The local volunteer bureaux work to encourage local communities to get involved in volunteering. Voluntary groups can also address broader cultural issues which may impact on behaviour within communities.

The Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs (WAYC) works with young people, especially those who are at most risk of exclusion, to provide positive activities and support. Specific activities include:

  • Encouraging youth volunteering e.g. through the involved project.
  • Peer mentoring - focusing on working with groups of young people, including young parents and those who are struggling at school.
  • Several outreach and detached projects where youth workers are meeting directly with young people allowing workers to challenge negative behaviour and support the young people in accessing local activities and services.

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Appendix B: Action plan

Anti-social behaviour action plan 2008-09 (pdf, 118Kb)

Anti-social behaviour action plan 2009-10 (pdf, 60Kb)

Anti-social behaviour action plan 2010-11 (pdf, 113Kb)

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