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Anti-Social Behaviour Policy
Statement of Policy
We will tackle, not tolerate anti-social behaviour
We believe to enjoy peace and quiet in your own home, feel safe and secure and not have to suffer the anti social activities of others.
Anti social behaviour causes real misery for people who simply want to get on with lives. It can range from serious acts of violence and harassment, to more 'everyday' incidents like noise nuisance.
Our approach is to try to change behaviour using a variety of approaches and interventions. However, we will take a tough stance when perpetrators refuse to mend their ways. We have no hesitation in using all the powers available to us to take action against troublemakers.
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.
We are committed to deaing with anti-social behaviour quickly, effectively and comprehensively. We will do this by:-
- Always investigating complaints of anti-social behaviour and taking appropriate action against perpetrators whether they are tenants, their families, friends or visitors.
- At the same time, recognising that some individuals and/or families may need support to help them to work with us to change their behaviour so that it becomes acceptable
- Providing as much support as possible to victims/witnesses
- Routine monitoring of the service we provide by sending regular customer surveys
- Setting clear and challenging performance targets for staff, which we will review annually
Obligations of Council tenants
We expect all our tenants to abide by the terms of their tenancy agreement as set out in the leaflet 'You and your home'. We will explain details of the agreement clearly to all new tenants so they are aware of their responsibilities, in particular;
Condition 19
“You, your household and guests must respect the rights of other people and not do anything (either in or near the property or on the estate where the property is) which is illegal, immoral or would cause danger, a nuisance or annoyance, including harassment of other people.Harassment includes but is not limited to harassment because of a person’s race, sex, sexuality, age, mental health, physical disability, learning disability, religion or because they have HIV/AIDs.Harassment is an interference with the peace and comfort of any person in relation to the enjoyment of their property or facilities on the estate.
If you, your household or guests break this condition you must pay to us the cost of cleaning up, clearing or making good any damage.”
Tenants are responsible for the behaviour of themselves, their families, friends, guests and visitors.
On most occasions, if tenancy conditions are broken we will inform tenants and warn them. If conditions continue to be broken, or in the case of some serious incidents then we will take legal action to make tenants comply with their agreement. This may result in them being evicted.
There will be occasions where we take immediate action, without warning, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Our general Anti-Social Behaviour Policy is supported by a number of specific policies and these are explained below.
Witness Support
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
- Dealing with complaints as quickly as possible
- Discussing the action we are taking with witnesses
- Keeping witnesses informed throughout the case
In the more serious cases we can take steps to make people feel more secure in their home. This can include:-
- Additional door security
- Window locks
- Spyholes
- Letterbox covers
- Security lights
- Installation of cameras
- Smoke alarms
- Environmental work around the property
- Connection to the Council City Wide Alarm system
In some serious cases we will arrange for witnesses to be moved away from their home temporarily. Many tenants have lived in their homes for many years and don’t want to leave the area for good but feel they need to get away until the situation is resolved.
Should we have to take legal action and our witnesses need to give evidence at Court there are a range of measures we can offer. Sheffield Homes has its own Witness Support Officer who will work with people to ensure they are supported and reassured throughout the case.
The Witness Support Officer will arrange a Court visit prior to the hearing taking place to make them aware of the layout and what to expect on the day.
Then, on the day of the hearing we will;
- Arrange transport to and from the Court
- Arrange for a solicitor/barrister to talk to witnesses prior to the start of the hearing to explain exactly what is going to happen and discuss any concerns or worries
- Arrange for a separate waiting room at the Court
- Provide refreshments and lunch
- Compensate for any loss of earnings
After the hearing we will ensure that we keep in contact and offer continued support.
Harassment and Racism
Sheffield Homes believes that all its customers should live in a safe and secure environment, free from any form of harassment and anti social behaviour.
Harassment and racism cause real misery and distress to people and will not be tolerated. Harassment and racism can take many forms including verbal abuse, attacks on people and property, offensive graffiti and offensive literature or rubbish put through letter boxes.
We take complaints of harassment very seriously and we are committed to taking whatever action we can to deal with perpetrators of harassment and support the victims.
Our Service Standards are set out in the 'Harassment and Racism Customer Charter' these include:
- We will arrange to see you within 2 working days of you reporting your problem to us.
- If English is not your first language we will, at your request, arrange for translators to help us to investigate your report and ensure you get all the information you need from us.
- We can also provide an interpretor for a person who is deaf or ask for a British Sign Language signer.
- We will take full details and investigate your report quickly.
- We will keep you informed of our progress and contact you at least once every 2 weeks until the case is resolved.
- We will review the progress of the case at least every 2 weeks to ensure the right action is being taken.
- Where the perpetrator is known we will take whatever action we can to deal with their behaviour.
- Where the perpetrator is not known we will do whatever we can to find out who is responsible.
- We will remove any offensive graffiti within 1 working day of it being reported to us.
- We will quickly repair any damage such as broken windows caused by perpetrators of harassment.
- We will treat your report in stict confidence. If believe it is necessary to discuss the case with anyone else we will ask your permission first.
We will treat all complainants and witnesses in a sensitive, supportive and understanding way and provide support measures as described in our Witness Support Policy above. We also keep a list of statutory and voluntary organisations who are able to offer support and advice to victims of harassment.
If we cannot take the action you want us to, we will fully explain the reasons for this.
Complaints of harassment are investigated using the anti social behaviour procedures.
Click here for more information on our Procedures.
Definitions of 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 persons race, religion, cultural differences, sex, sexuality, age, metal health, disability, or because they have HIV or AIDS".
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”.
We also define Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender harassment as any harassment that a person suffers because of their sex or sexuality.
All council tenants are subject to a tenancy condition (condition 19 see above), which forbids them from harassing other people.
Equalities and diversity
We will ensure that our service is accessible to all and where customers have any particular needs or requirements we will do all we can to help.
Examples of this are:-
- The loan of dictaphones for anyone who has difficulty reading or writing or where English is not their first language.
- Translated incident diary sheets are available in a variety of languages.
- Incident diaries are available in large print and braille.
- Use of interpreters and British Sign Language signers.
- Home visits.
Confidentiality
We respect the rights of our customers to confidentiality and will always request their permission before sharing any information they give us with others.
Data Protection and Information exchange
We have an Information Sharing Protocol with our partners. We will share appropriate and relevant information when dealing with cases of anti -ocial behaviour. All information exchanged is shared in line with the terms of the protocol and within Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Data Protection 1998 legislation.
Publicity
Publicity is essential if local communities are to support us when tackling anti-social behaviour. Therefore, we will always publicise the successful results of our Court cases in the local media so that the public are made aware of the strong action we take.
We will also, from time to time publish a statistical summary showing the numbers of cases, actions, resolutions and Court results to our tenants and partner agencies through a variety of publications.
When we obtain an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) in Court we will produce an information leaflet. This will include details of the name and age of the subject together with a list of the prohibitions and the expiry date of the Order. It will also contain details of who to contact should the Order be breached.
Protection of staff
We will not tolerate any threats or abusive behaviour towards our staff. Condition 20 of our Tenancy Conditions (You and your home) applies:-
“You, members of your household or guests must not use violent, abusive or offensive behaviour to our employees, agents or contractors doing housing work.This condition applies on or near the property or the estate on which it is situated or in any of housing offices or elsewhere.”
We will take strong action if this condition is breached including legal action which could result in an Injunction, Possession proceedings or both.
Staff training and accreditation
Tackling anti-social behaviour effectively requires knowledgeable and well trained staff. We will ensure that all staff dealing with anti-social behaviour clearly understand and deliver our Policy. We will also ensure that they are fully trained on our procedures.
From the early part of 2005 we introduced an accreditation process. All staff dealing with anti-social behaviour are required to meet an agreed standard of competency in order to become accredited in dealing with this area of work.