Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Area

Tackling fear of crime & disorder in the community

Anti-Social Behaviour

One of the most pressing problems facing communities is anti-social behaviour (ASB). This section looks at ASB in more detail, focusing on Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts. Reducing anti-social behaviour is a high priority for the Government, police forces, local authorities and communities.

At the beginning of this document anti-social behaviour was defined as any "Acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as (the defendant)". This is a wide definition and has been made that way so that ASB can cover a wide range of problems.

So that all these problems can be dealt with effectively, the Government has introduced two new ways of dealing with the people who cause ASB - these are known as Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs). Most of the information in this section is taken from the Home Office Guidance on ASBOs and ABCs. This is the guidance that the police and local authority in your area will follow when dealing with anti-social behaviour.

Question

• What activities can be classed as anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour can include, but is not limited to the following:

• Harassment of residents or passers-by

• Verbal Abuse

• Criminal Damage

• Vandalism

• Noise nuisance

• Writing graffiti

• Engaging in threatening behaviour in large groups

• Racial abuse

• Smoking or drinking alcohol underage

• Substance misuse

• Joyriding

• Begging

• Prostitution

• Kerb crawling

• Throwing missiles

• Assault

• Vehicle crime

• Abandoned/nuisance vehicles
  
  

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Last update: Wednesday, October 25, 2006