Terms of reference for anti-social behaviour reviews

Introduction

Anti-social behaviour reviews gives victims of persistent anti-social behaviour and hate incidents the right to ask for a multi agency review of their case.

If the threshold for an anti-social behaviour review is met, a case review will be undertaken by relevant agencies to consider what action has previously been taken and decide whether there are additional actions that can be taken to reduce the ASB.

Agencies will share information relevant to the case and take joined up problem solving approach to find a solution for the victim.

Criteria

• Three separate anti-social behaviour incidents have been reported within six months

• The request for an anti-social behaviour review must be submitted within a month of the last reported incident and where it is considered ‘no action’ has been taken

‘No action has been’ might include:

• the reported problems have not been acknowledged i.e., no one has contacted the victim to advise what action would be taken

• no action has been taken because information has not been shared between partners and this has affected potential service delivery.

• responsible agencies must be given sufficient time to investigate and respond to each incident as per their official ASB Operational Procedure

‘Anti-Social Behaviour’ is defined as:

• in assessing Anti-Social Behaviour for the purpose of the review we use the narrower definition of ‘Behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress to a member or members of the public”

• when deciding whether the threshold is met, we consider the cumulative effect of the incidents and consider the harm or potential harm caused to the victim, rather than rigidly deciding whether each incident reached the level of harassment, alarm or distress.

Aims of anti-social behaviour reviews

• provide a safety net for victims of ASB who believe they have not had a satisfactory response to their complaints about ASB

• share information in order to increase the safety, health and well-being of victims and / or witnesses, both adults and children;

• ensure multi agency working and multi-agency effective communication;

• encourage integrity, openness and honesty between agencies; and foster trust amongst partners by valuing their participation and empowering them to ensure positive outcomes;

• determine whether the perpetrators pose a risk to any particular individual or to the general community;

• construct jointly and implement, a risk management plan that provides professional support to all those at risk and that reduces the risk of harm;

• reduce repeat victimisation;

• Improve agency accountability, and improve support for staff involved in cases;

• Encourage creativity and innovative ways of working;

• Provide opportunities to improve partnership working;

• Encourage problem solving;

• Promote the use of early interventions;  

Important Note

The anti-social behaviour review is not an agency and does not have a case management function. A lead officer for each case will be nominated at the meeting. The responsibility to take appropriate actions rests with individual agencies, it is not transferred to the anti-social behaviour review.