Glossary of Terms

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABC) -An ABC is a voluntary agreement between an individual involved in anti-social behaviour and the local police, the housing department, the registered social landlord and where appropriate, the perpetrator’s school. If an individual fails to take responsibility for their behaviour and doesn’t comply voluntarily with the terms of their ABC, often the next step is to apply for an ASBO.
ABCs can only be applied for by the Police, British Transport Police, local authorities and registered social landlords. Information and evidence gathered from the local community is invaluable in supporting the applications.

ACORN – A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods used in the BCS which classifies households according to the demographic, employment and housing characteristics of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) - An ASBO is a civil court order. They were first introduced in April 1999 and are granted on the basis of providing the court with sufficient evidence that an individual has been acting in an anti-social way.
If an ASBO is made on an individual, he or she is then prohibited from doing anything it specifies, such as visiting certain places, leaving their home after a certain time, or acting in a certain fashion. The terms of each ASBO will vary according to individual circumstances.
Although being the subject of an ASBO will not give the individual a criminal record, if they are convicted of breaching its terms, they could be given a prison sentence of up to five years.
ASBOs can only be applied for by the Police, British Transport Police, local authorities and registered social landlords. Information and evidence gathered from the local community is invaluable in supporting the applications.

ATOC – Association of train Operating Companies

Basic Command Units (BCUs) – These broadly equate to former police divisions or districts. There are currently 290 BCUs in England and Wales and recorded crime figures for six key offences are published.

Community Support Officers (CSOs) - CSOs provide a visible presence in the community, helping the police to tackle anti-social behaviour and offering reassurance to the public. They have strictly defined and limited powers which enable them to deal with specific crimes. CSOs operate under the control of the local Chief Constable. 

CPT – Confederation of Passenger Transport

Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) – Set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and are broadly Local Authority Areas. They include representatives from police, health, probation and other local agencies and provide strategies for reducing crime in the area. There are currently 373 CDRPs in England and Wales.

Inner-city areas – Inner-city areas are defined in the BCS at the sampling stage as those postcode sectors with high population density, low owner-occupation and low proportions of professionals.

Neighbourhood and Street Wardens - Wardens have a number of roles, which will vary according to local need. They include:
● Promoting community safety.
● Assisting with environmental improvements, such as litter, graffiti, dog fouling and housing management.
● Contributing to community development.
● Providing a link between local residents, key agencies (such as the local authority) and the police.

Older People – Refers to people aged 60 years and over.

Physical disorder – Two measures are used in the BCS. The first is based on the interviewer’s perception of the level of a) vandalism, graffiti and deliberate damage to property, b) rubbish and litter, and c) homes in poor condition in the area. The interviewer had to make their own assessment as to whether each of these problems was very or fairly common, not very common or not at all common. For each, very and fairly common was scored as 1 and not very and not at as 0. A scale was then constructed by summating the scores for each case. The scale ranged from 0 to 3, with high disorder areas being those with a score of 2 or 3. The second measure is based on the respondent’s perception of local problems, this consists of one indicator based on a scale constructed from questions on problems due to teenagers hanging around, vandalism, racial attacks, drug dealing and people being drunk or rowdy. It is based on a scale which scores answers to the questions as follows; ‘very big problem’ = 3, ‘fairly big problem’ = 2, ‘not a very big problem’ = 1 and ‘not a problem at all’ = 0. The maximum score for the five questions is 15 and the percentage is based on those who score 8 or more on this scale. This disorder scale can only be calculated for the 2001 BCS sweep onwards as the question on people being drunk or rowdy was only introduced in 2001.

Reparation Orders - These require young offenders to make specific reparation either to the individual victim or the community. The reparation must be commensurate with the seriousness of the offence(s) for which the order is being given, but may not exceed a total of 24 hours in aggregate. It must be made within three months of the making of the order, and may not be made to any person without their consent. Reparation under the order might involve writing a letter of apology, apologising to the victim in person, cleaning graffiti or repairing criminal damage for which the offender has been responsible. Where the victim of the offence does not wish to receive direct reparation, reparative activity appropriate to the nature of the offence may be made to the community at large.

Repeat victimisation – In the BCS, the recurrence of the same crime against those who have already been victimised once in the year.

Rural areas – Defined in the BCS as those areas falling in to ACORN types 1 to 9 and 27 (see also ACORN).

Social Capital

Putnam (1993) defines social capital in terms of four characteristics:
● The existence of community networks.
● Civic engagement (participation in these community networks).
● Local identity and a sense of solidarity and equality with other community members.
● Norms of trust and reciprocal help and support.

Taken from http://www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm

Urban areas – all ACORN types used in the BCS, which are not classified as rural or inner city.