Anti-Social Behaviour
What is Anti-Social Behaviour?
We believe that people should be able to enjoy peace and quiet in their own home and feel safe and secure in the areas where they live.
Anti-social behaviour causes real misery for people who just want to get on with their lives. It ranges from serious acts of violence and harassment, to more ‘everyday’ incidents like noise nuisance.
The broad definition we use to determine anti-social behaviour is:-
“Something that causes nuisance, annoyance, harassment, alarm or distress to one or more person/s not of the same household”
Examples are:
- Noise nuisance
- Intimidation and harassment
- Aggressive and threatening language and behaviour
- Hate behaviour
- Use of property to sell drugs or for other unlawful purposes
How can I report Anti-Social Behaviour?
If you are a victim or witness of anti-social behaviour and you live on a council estate you can “Contact us” at your local area housing office. You can also contact the First Point at Howden House or use our on-line reporting form.
If you do not live on a council estate and for more information about reporting Anti Social Behaviour, follow this link. (New window)
How can I report harassment?
We define harassment as:
“Any act of, or threat of, violence, intimidation, verbal abuse or damage to property which is carried out (or which someone believes is carried out) because of a person’s race, religion, cultural differences, sex, sexuality, age, mental health, disability or because they have HIV or AIDS.”
If you are a victim or witness of harassment and you live on a council estate you can “Contact us” at your local area housing office. You can also contact the First Point at Howden House. Or use our on-line reporting form.
If you do not live on a council estate and for more information about reporting Anti Social Behaviour, follow this link (New window).
How can I report Racial Harassment?
We define racial harassment in line with the findings of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry:
“A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or by any other person”.
If you are a victim or witness of racial harassment and you live on a council estate you can “Contact us” at your local area housing office. You can also contact the First Point at Howden House. Or use our on-line reporting form.
If you do not live on a council estate and for more information about reporting Anti Social Behaviour, follow this link (New window).
How can I report Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Harassment?
If you are a victim or witness of harassment because of your sex or sexuality and you live on a council estate you can “Contact us” at your local area housing office. You can also contact the First Point at Howden House. Or use our on-line reporting form.
If you do not live on a council estate and for more information about reporting Anti Social Behaviour, follow this link (opens in a new window).
What happens when I report Anti-Social Behaviour?
Sometimes a neighbour just needs reminding that their behaviour is upsetting. The action plan we agree could include talking the problem through with the other person.
If customers feel uneasy with this approach then we can set up a meeting and be there to help neighbours talk though the problem together. Or, we can involve Mediation Sheffield who have expert advisers who can help to find a solution.
If this does not resolve the problem we can take further action. Further information on the action we can take can be found by visiting our dealing with anti-social behaviour section of our site
Why do I need to complete an Incident Diary?
We have asked you to keep a diary of events or incidents that relate to your current problems. This will help us assess the extent of the problems and establish what action can be taken against the perpetrators.
Usually the diary sheet will only be seen by Housing Officers investigating your complaint. However, in very severe cases where County Court action becomes necessary your diary may be produced as evidence. We would seek your agreement for this before any information is disclosed.
What support is available to me when I report Anti-Social Behaviour?
Witnesses are very important to us and we understand that for victims of anti-social behaviour who are collecting evidence to help us then this can be a frightening and distressing time.
We recognise this and will do all we can to support our witnesses throughout the process. We will do this by:
- Taking complaints seriously
- Keeping any information you give us strictly confidential and we will ask you permission if we need to share your information with another agency
- Dealing with complaints as quickly as possible
- Discussing the action we are taking with witnesses
- Keeping witnesses informed throughout the case
You can find further information by visiting our anti-social behaviour section of the website
What action can Sheffield Homes take to resolve Anti-Social Behaviour?
We will take action against someone when we have evidence to prove the action is necessary and appropriate.
Most of our evidence is collected from incident diaries.
We may also need to speak to other people who have witnessed the problem/s complained about.
The action we can take is:
- Verbal/written warnings
- Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABC's)
- Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO's)
- Injunctions
- Notice of Seeking Possession (NSP)
- Possession proceedings
- Suspending an application to buy a council house
- Demoted tenancies
You can find further information about the action we can take by visiting our action we can take pages.
What are Sheffield Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Procedures?
Our procedures explain how our customers can report Anti-Social Behaviour to us and how we will deal with these complaints.
All our local housing offices have specialist staff available to deal with complaints of anti-social behaviour.
A copy of the Anti-Social Behaviour Customer Charter and Harassment and Racism Customer Charter are available to download or from all Sheffield Homes housing offices.
What is Sheffield Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Policy?
We will tackle, not tolerate anti-social behaviour
We are committed to dealing with anti-social behaviour quickly, effectively and comprehensively.
You can find further information about our Anti social behaviour policy by visiting the policy section of our site.
What is Sheffield Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Policy Relating to Harassment?
Statement Policy
We will tackle, not tolerate anti-social behaviour.
We are committed to dealing with anti-social behaviour quickly, effectively and comprehensively.
We define harassment as:
"Any act of, or threat of, violence, imtimidation, verbal abuse or damage to property which is carried out (or which someone believes is carried out) because of a person's race, religion, cultural differences, sex, sexuality, age, mental health, disability or because they have HIV or AIDS".
You can find further information about our Anti social behaviour policy by visiting the policy section of our site.
What is Sheffield Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Policy relating to Racial Harassment?
Statement of Policy
We will tackle, not tolerate anti-social behaviour.
We are committed to dealing with anti-social behaviour quickly, effectively and comprehensively.
We define racial harassment in line with the findings of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry:
“A racist incident is any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”.
You can find further information about our Anti social behaviour policy by visiting the policy section of our site.
What is Sheffield Homes Anti-Social Behaviour Policy relating to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Harassment?
Statement of Policy
We will tackle, not tolerate anti-social behaviour
We are committed to dealing with anti-social behaviour quickly, effectively and comprehensively.
We define Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender harassment as:
“Any act of, or threat of, violence, intimidation, verbal abuse or damage to property which is carried out (or which someone believes is carried out) because of a person’s sex or sexuality.
You can find further information about our Anti social behaviour policy by visiting the policy section of our site.
Do you publicise the details of perpetrators involved in anti social behaviour?
We believe that the public should be aware of the strong action we take when dealing with anti social behaviour.
Therefore, we will always issue a press release of our successful court cases to the local media and we will include the names of the perpetrators who caused the anti social behaviour.