The Council needed to ensure that a robust response was provided to anti-social behaviour in the borough and that it remained committed to meeting its’ statutory responsibilities with regard to community safety.

The ASB Crime & Policing Act 2014 received Royal Assent in March 2014 and there was a staged introduction to different sections of the Act from 13 May 2014 until the majority of the anti-social behaviour elements came into force on 20 October 2014.  The Act was designed to enable authorities to act at a much earlier stage; some of the tools were very much designed to facilitate early intervention, and in some instances even with the potential to take action before a problem occurred..

 The Corporate ASB Policy & Procedure sought to establish a clear definition of what the Council considered to be anti-social behaviour and how staff would be expected to deal with complaints received given the changes in legislation.

Cllr Russell MOVED and Cllr Ms Sanders SECONDED the recommendation and following a discussion  a vote was taken by a show of hands and it was

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY

The adoption of the Council’s Corporate Anti-Social Behaviour Policy and Procedures.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION

The Council had a legal duty as a housing provider and under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to work in partnership to tackle crime and disorder.

The policy and procedures  would  ensure the Council provided a robust response to anti-social behaviour in the borough and importantly identified what the Council could and would do in response to complaints received.

To protect residents by applying controls and ensuring joined up multi-agency working and responsibility/ownership to reduce the risk of vulnerable victims not being protected by the authorities they depended on.

To ensure officers were trained and able to enforce the new controls to ensure that residents received an efficient and effective service to reduce the risk to our communities.