Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2024-2029

Foreword

Welcome to Great Yarmouth Borough Council's Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Strategy 2024. This strategy sets out the Council's priorities for preventing and tackling ASB for the next five years, with the aim of ensuring that residents throughout the borough of Great Yarmouth reside and feel safe in local communities.

As a borough we face increasingly complex challenges when tackling ASB. Prioritising the needs of those at harm, whilst working with perpetrators who are often some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Partnership working is at the heart of our town's approach to preventing and tackling ASB. This is supported through a wide range of agencies who are engaged in the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group and connected to the Council's Community Hub.

This strategy advocates an approach to ASB based on prevention ideally delivered through effective community engagement, with support for all parties when incidents occur. The strategy provides a framework that incorporates four strategic themes - prevention; intervention; support and enforcement.

Work to prevent and tackle ASB should be visible; accountable and have strong governance. This strategy informs the Council's approach, promoting a partnership delivery model with everyone including local residents playing a key role.

Introduction

Great Yarmouth has a rich cultural heritage, vibrant holiday industry, diversity of population and unique geographical location on the east coast. The borough is supported with good provision of affordable housing, quality schools and a sound local economy. ASB can cause considerable distress to individuals, their families, and communities. Failing to prevent and resolve incidents of ASB can escalate into more serious behaviours that will significantly impact the attractive features of the Borough.

Despite many positive factors in the borough, it is also important to recognise that some neighbourhoods are experiencing significant poverty and deprivation. With low education achievements/skills and vulnerabilities including poor health people are often caught in a cycle of not being able to enhance their life chances. This has resulted in some of the most deprived areas in the country being located within the borough of Great Yarmouth.

ASB is often a visible symptom of deep- rooted problems linked to risk factors born out of persistent social and economic inequalities. Building confidence and resilience in those neighbourhoods most at risk has the potential to complement wider work ongoing with areas including health and wellbeing.

Residents in urban or rural areas and people who visit or work in the borough may experience different types of ASB. Whether it is rowdy or drunken behaviour; irresponsible behaviour such as littering or lack of respect for local communities and the environment, the effect is negative and has a considerable impact on quality of life. Everyone should be able to feel safe in their own home and neighbourhood, including those operating businesses and visitors to our Borough.

This Strategy aims to deliver positive outcomes for communities by preventing ASB before it occurs by designing out the opportunity for ASB to occur and intervening early to challenging inappropriate behaviours in order to reduce the risk of negative behaviours escalating. When incidents occur, these will be managed delivering a wide range of approaches to minimise the impact on both complainants and perpetrators. The Council recognises that all forms of ASB including those that may initially be classed as relatively minor can have a devastating impact on its victims. This is particularly the case when it is targeted towards vulnerable persons. The Council have made significant progress in its approach to preventing and tackling ASB in recent years and this has been recognised through being a finalist in a national event as ASB team of the year. However, there is still more we can do to reduce ASB and improve the quality of life for residents across the borough. We are committed to working with residents to achieve this ambition.

Understanding the Issue
Anti-Social Behaviour - What is it?

The borough uses the following definition which is based on the ASB Crime and Policing Act 2014 (revised 2023):

ASB is a conduct that:

• has caused or is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress to one or more persons not of the same household
• is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person's occupation of residential premises
• is capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person

 

Given this broad definition the Council recognises people will have different thresholds and tolerances for ASB. A person- centred approach will be delivered to respond to often complex circumstances that may be encountered. Engagement and work with a wide range of agencies will complement the diverse range of activities and actions required to support the provision of safe communities.

There are activities that will be reported to the Council under the heading of ASB that we would not be able to tackle for example drug dealing and drug use on the street, these are criminal acts that the Council does not have powers to address and should be reported the Police. We will inform a complainant if we are not able to investigate an issue and signpost to the correct investigative agency.

Strategic Themes

The Council's approach to minimising incidents of ASB and addressing any public perception concerns are outlined through the following four strategic themes:

• Prevention
• Intervention
• Support
• Enforcement

Prevention

This theme focuses on reducing the risk of ASB incidents occurring or minimising the escalation of an incident through community engagement and intelligence. Targeting specific risk factors including highly populated; deprived or vulnerable communities is likely to minimise incidents occurring. Working with community leaders and front- line staff provides a vital insight to any concerns/issues that do occur and supports opportunities to prevent ASB escalating.

Providing a clean, well-maintained environment in local neighbourhoods enhances the provision of a safe community and the Council is committed to this provision and welcome opportunities to work with local residents to make improvements to minimise opportunities for ASB incidents to occur.

The Council will:

• promote opportunities for residents to work with the Council to minimise ASB in local neighbourhoods
• undertake pop events with other agencies to promote community safety and identify/action concerns
• promote opportunities for residents to participate in local diversity activities arranged
• encourage responsible waste management and promote recycling
• identify and design out crime initiatives within communities with partners
• access available Government funding to support prevention through initiatives such as Safer Street Funding
• promote safeguarding awareness with staff and ensure that all decisions are made with regard to the Safeguarding Policy
• participate in national ASB Awareness Week to identify any ASB concerns and promote work that supports local communities
• publicise successful case outcomes in some of the most serious cases managed
• support and encourage residents to attend Safer Neighbourhood Action Panel (SNAP) meetings to help set local Police priorities in their area

Intervention

Intervention measures are put in place when preventative action has failed, and a report is received that a person(s) is committing ASB. The aim of the Council's approach is to evidence and validate the issue reported and provide appropriate advice to the alleged perpetrator. The approach focuses on early intervention to prevent escalation.

The Council will:

• risk assess all complaints received and respond within 5 working days, prioritising vulnerable complainants
• validate reports through engaging with front line staff; other agencies and community leaders (maintaining confidentiality)
• deliver informal and formal mediation to resolve disputes
• provide guidance and outline the parameters of acceptable behaviour.

Support

Involvement in an ASB case brings significant emotional demands on both complainants and perpetrators who may have significant vulnerabilities. The Council will consider the factors of each case and work with partnering agencies to identify support approaches that are required to achieve improved behaviours and support wellbeing. This will be supported by ensuring reasonable communication is maintained throughout.

There are times when domestic abuse or domestic violence are linked to the initial report of ASB. Professional curiosity and staff training will ensure that we fully explore all reports of ASB to make sure that these crucial first contacts are not misdiagnosed as ASB and are instead dealt with according to our Domestic Abuse Policy. We will support both the victim and the perpetrator; however, we will ensure that our actions are victim led and that the victim or survivor should not be negatively impacted or held accountable regardless of tenancy status or legal liabilities.

The Council will:

• provide case updates of progress made supported
• proactively work with other agencies through the Community Hub to develop action plans (including support) to respond to wider issues that are occurring in the home
• facilitate support plan delivery

Enforcement

Enforcement is used where initial intervention measures have been unsuccessful and ASB persists or a serious ASB incident has occurred. The aim of the Council is to resolve ASB incidents through intervention/support to change inappropriate behaviours. In some cases, this is not successful, and the Council will play a leading role in supporting victims to maintain community safety. The Council will deliver interventions in accordance with the Multi- agency Intervention and Support Triangle (MIST).

Each response aims to identify the trigger for the behaviour and respond to reports with careful consideration that reasonable and proportionate actions are delivered in accordance with the severity of the issue and any vulnerabilities that may exist.

 The Council will:

• investigate incidents ASB in the home and local communities, utilising the ASB Toolkit to support community safety
• share information with partners of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Group (ASBAG) to develop a clear understanding of each other involvement with serious cases and capability to facilitate actions
• problem solve and identify interventions with partners for serious cases through an action plan approach with defined responsibilities to support timely delivery to support local community
• utilize enforcement powers to resolve identified issues according to the Anti- social Behaviour Policy
• review actions regularly, assess progress through to case completion, communicate case closure reasons and support available

ASB Case Review

We will publish details on how victims of ASB are able to access the ASB Case Review. The ASB Case Review gives victims the right to require action is taken where they believe an ongoing anti-social behaviour problem that has not been addressed or managed correctly. This asks agencies such as the local council. Police, housing providers and other involved agencies to review collectively how they have responded to the issue by conducting an anti-social behaviour case review. This multi-agency meeting will be chaired by an independent person and the victim will be given the opportunity to address the review. This does not replace the victims right to complain about a service or an officer.

MIST KEY