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Anti-social behaviour
What is anti-social behaviour?
Anti-social behaviour is any activity that impacts on other people in a negative way. Selfish and unacceptable activities can blight the quality of community life and the police are committed to tackling them.
Examples of anti-social behaviour include:
- nuisance neighbours
- rowdy and nuisance behaviour
- yobbish behaviour and intimidating groups taking over public spaces
- vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting
- people dealing and buying drugs on the street
- people dumping rubbish and abandoning cars
- begging and anti-social drinking
- the misuse of fireworks
- the misuse of mini-motos
What causes anti-social behaviour?
The causes of anti-social behaviour are many and varied but include:
- poor parental discipline and supervision
- family conflict (between parents or between parents and children)
- family history of problem behaviour
- community disorganisation and neglect
- the availability of drugs and alcohol
- lack of neighbourhood attachment
Why is it important?
Anti-social behaviour ruins lives. It doesn’t just make life unpleasant; it prevents the renewal of disadvantaged areas and creates an environment where more serious crime can take hold.
Anti-social behaviour is a major issue in some of the UK’s more deprived or disadvantaged communities.
Anti-social behaviour is also expensive. It is estimated to cost the British taxpayer £3.4bn a year.
What are the police doing to tackle anti-social behaviour?
West Midlands Police take anti-social behaviour very seriously because it has a negative impact on the daily lives of our communities.
Anti-social behaviour causes harm to individuals and the community and must be stopped as soon as possible, when the minimum harm has been caused.
We take various measures to deal with anti-social behaviour, from imposing fines and making arrests to confiscating vehicles and working with the council to tackle problem families.
The measures we take differ but the solution we look for is the same - to stop the behaviour and enhance the quality of life in our neighbourhoods.
Measures that can be used by the police and other agencies include:
- warning letters and interviews, contracts and agreements
- fixed penalty notices and penalty notices for disorder
- parenting orders, individual support orders, noise abatement notices, injunctions, dispersal powers and anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs)
- ‘crack house’ closure orders
- possession proceedings against a tenant.
Action may be initiated by a number of agencies including the police, local authorities, registered social landlords, housing trusts and youth offending teams.