Antisocial Behaviour Booklet

Working together to tackleantisocial behaviourA guide for…Council tenants andleaseholderswww.southampton.gov.uk

Southampton City Council respects your right to live in your home in the way youchoose as long as you, your family, visitors or people living at the property do notcause a nuisance to others, and do not break any of the conditions in your tenancyagreement.We take antisocial behaviour (ASB) seriously and demonstrated our commitment bysigning up to the nationally recognised Respect ASB Charter for Housing.We will give you help and advice if you report antisocial behaviour.We will investigate your complaints and keep you informed and take appropriateaction to tackle the problem.What is antisocial behaviour?Antisocial Behaviour can be defined as ‘behaviour that causes or is likely to causeharassment, alarm or distress to one or more people from another household’.This includes your neighbours or any visitors to your property or neighbourhood.Antisocial behaviour includes behaviour such as:• Domestic violence • Allowing dogs to foul in communal areas• Hate Crime (Crime or harassment being motivated by prejudice or hate)• Playing loud music• Fly tipping and dumping of rubbish• Drug Dealing• Vandalism and graffiti• Dogs barking continuouslyAntisocial behaviour does not include behaviour associated withnormal day to day living such as:• Sounds from children playing in daytime hours• Babies crying• One off parties• Occasional DIY noise in the daytime• Noise from household appliances such as washing machines in daytime hours• Cooking odoursThese are not definitive lists they just give you some examples

What can I do if I am experiencing antisocial behaviour?It is important to remember that people have different lifestyles and often yourneighbour may not realise that they are causing annoyance. Involving us straightaway can make your neighbour feel threatened which may make the situation worse.As a first step, in most low level cases of ASB we would ask those who are experiencingproblems with neighbours to consider trying to settle the dispute between themselves.Explain to your neighbour in a calm and reasonable way the problem you have andbe prepared to compromise. You may be able to settle the matter straight awaywithout any further action. However, if you approach your neighbour and theybehave unreasonably, you should walk away.What can Southampton City Council do?Speaking to your neighbour may often resolve the issue but if you need to takethe complaint further contact your Housing Office (contact details are at the endof this leaflet).In all but the most serious cases the Council will aim to resolve your complaintinformally by referring your case to our independent assessment service (this is runfor us by NFS Mediation). This is a highly effective service and 8 out of 10 cases areresolved through this process.An Assessor will aim to see both you and your neighbour separately and report backto your Housing Office within 15 working days of your complaint being made. TheAssessor will talk to you about the issues raised and how this is affecting you – theywill then (with your permission) talk to your neighbour.

What happens next?Once the Assessment Service has met with all involved your Housing Office willconfirm with you in writing the outcome of the case. In most cases the complaintwill be resolved at this stage, as those involved will have come to some agreement.However sometimes the case will be closed as no further action is possiblee.g. in cases where there is noise caused by normal daily living in a property.What happens if further action is needed?If further action is needed,usually if the problem is continuing and is a breach of ourtenancy agreement, your Housing Management Officer will complete an Action Planwith you – this will outline:1. What actions we will take to resolve the issue – for example we may need to interview the person causing the problem, speak to other agencies such as the police.2. Any actions we need you to take to resolve the issue –for example we may need you to complete an ASB diary to record the nuisance, or report noise complaints to Environmental Health.3. How you will be updated on your case.In all but the most serious case we will aim to resolve the complaint using non legalmeasures such as:• Warnings letters• Visits• Acceptable Behaviour Contracts• MediationIn the most serious cases we will consider taking legal action including injunctionsand possession action. We will only do this if we feel we are able to present a strongcase to the court. Legal action can be a long process and will usually need high qualityevidence from you, the police or other witnesses. We may ask you to attend court.

Our ASB Service StandardsIn very serious ASB cases an interview will be arranged within 1 working day and anAction Plan completed.All other ASB cases will be responded to within 3 working days and referred to ourindependent assessment service NFS Mediation.In cases that are passed back from NFS Mediation for further action, the complainantwill be contacted within 3 working days to arrange an Action Plan if appropriate.The Action Plan will state what we will do, and what you may be asked to do, inorder to resolve the complaint. At this stage we will agree the most appropriate leveland form of contact with you. • We will work with other agencies to resolve ASB cases as appropriate. • We will always inform the complainant when their complaint has been closed. • We will arrange for offensive graffiti to be removed within 24 hours of notification. • We will send out a customer satisfaction survey to all complainants when their complaint has been closed. • We will refer victims and perpetrators of ASB to other agencies as appropriate.

How do I report antisocial behaviour?Police for Emergency Situations 999 if• a crime is in progress• someone suspected of a crime is nearby• there is danger to life• violence is being used or threatenedPolice for non emergency crime and antisocial behaviour requiring police attention call 101If you are a council tenant or leaseholder contact your Housing Office:West district: Redbridge, Millbrook, Maybush, Lordshill, Shirley,Coxford, LordswoodTel: 023 8078 9344 Email: [email protected] district: Thornhill, Harefield, Townhill Park,Tel: 023 8042 0520 Email: [email protected] district: Weston, Peartree, Sholing, Merryoak, Itchen, WoolstonTel: 023 8044 2604 Email: [email protected] district: Central, Highfield, Bevois, Swaythling, Northam, Bassett, St. DenysTel: 023 8083 2211 Email: [email protected] you can use the online reporting form on our website www.southampton.gov.uk

What can I do if I am unhappy with the service receivedWe aim to give a good quality service in accordance with the service standardsin this document. However if you feel we have not met these standards, you candiscuss the issue with your Housing Management Officer in the first instance. If youare still dissatisfied, you can use our formal complaints procedure. You can get fulldetails of this from your local housing office or from our website.

This written information is available onrequest in other formats or languages.Please contact 023 8091 5210 for help.www.southampton.gov.ukVersion 1Designed, printed & produced by Southampton City Council 08.12.23545