Meeting documents

Councillor Winn

Cabinet Member for Communities

To consider the attached report

Contact Officer: Chris Oliver 01296 585 005

(a)          Decision(s)

That the Anti Social Behaviour Policy be approved and adopted.

(b)          Reason(s) for Decision(s)

The policy will set out the parameters for staff to deal with Anti Social Behaviour cases in a timely and professional manner.  This will also make the processes and procedures clear for residents and partners.

(c)        Alternative Options Considered

Not to approve a policy.  However, this was not recommended as it would leave the process for dealing with Anti Social Behaviour cases open to misinterpretation.

(d)       Relevant Scrutiny Committee

Environment and Living.  That Committee had already considered the report submitted to Cabinet and its comments were taken fully into account in approving the policy and any changes suggested by the Committee had been incorporated in the policy document.

(e)        Conflicts of Interest / Dispensation(s)

None.

Cabinet received a report that had been considered by the Environment and Living Scrutiny Committee on 24 July, 2018, regarding the Council’s Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) policy.

ASB covered a wide range of terms which was generally accepted as conduct that caused, or was likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person. AVDC was a statutory member of the Aylesbury Vale Community Safety Partnership which involved working with the police and other agencies to reduce disorder and crime within Aylesbury Vale. AVDC also had a responsibility to tackle environmental ASB, which included noise nuisance, graffiti, litter and abandoned cars. In addition to an overview of ASB, Members heard details of national cases which highlighted failures of Local Authorities and the police in responding to individuals that were targets of ASB.

The new policy was looking to introduce a clearer process for staff and residents to follow when dealing with cases of ASB:

Hate crime (racial/homophobic/disablist incident) or suspected domestic violence – Report the incident to Thames Valley Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Excessive, persistent noise or public health issues (includes noise, artificial light, odour, smoke & animals) – Full instructions on this website: https://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/section/nuisance

The Policy contained contact details of social housing organisations so that landlords could be contacted by residents if their tenants were a cause of ASB.

Abandoned cars – There was an online form that needed to be filled out by the person reporting. The form, along with guidance and further information, was available at this website: https://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/abandoned-vehicles

Graffiti – AVDC could only remove graffiti that was on AVDC land; if it was on private property then AVDC would make the owner aware and request its removal. Reporting graffiti could be done online: https://eforms.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/ShowForm.asp?fm_fid=34

Report a concern about the safety of a child – Contact Social Services on 01296 383999 or out of hours the Social Services Care Line on 0800 137915.

Report a concern about the safety of a vulnerable adult – Contact Adult Social Care Services on 0800 137915.  Domestic Violence – This included threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. Help and advice for various forms of domestic violence, including telephone contact details, could be found on AVDC’s website: https://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/domestic-violence.

Members of the Community Safety Partnership had been consulted on the draft policy and had agreed the terms included. As mentioned previously  the updated policy had also been considered by the Environment and Living Scrutiny Committee on 24 July.  The Committee had recommended a few minor changes which had been incorporated into Cabinet report. The changes suggested had been to ensure that it was clear that ASB was subjective and could mean different things to different people and impact people in different ways.  Practitioners would determine an appropriate response to the incident.  This change had been highlighted on page 4 of the policy.

RESOLVED –

That the Anti Social Behaviour Policy be approved and adopted.