How We Tackle Anti-Social Behaviour
We take all reported incidents of anti-social behaviour seriously and will not hesitate to use the full range of options available, if necessary, to tackle the problem. However enforcement action is not always the answer. The ‘Safer Hart’ partnership aims to utilise all suitable methods of intervention including referrals to specialist agencies before resorting to actions, which may result in the offender entering the criminal justice system prematurely.
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts
An Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) is a voluntary contract between the perpetrator of the anti-social behaviour, the council and other agencies. These contracts enable conditions to be placed upon an individual restricting their behaviour. While the signing of an ABC is voluntary, a breach could give supporting evidence towards the application for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order.
Whilst putting conditions on the individual we also try and support them by making appropriate referrals to specialist agencies e.g. the Youth Inclusion Support Panel (YISP).
Anti-Social Behaviour Order
An Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) is an order that is placed upon an individual by the court when all other appropriate interventions have been attempted. The high profile media interest surrounding ASBO's may suggest they are easily obtainable, in truth it is a complex process with a need for proof of anti-social behaviour preferably from more than one source. It is therefore important that individuals who are victims of anti-social behaviour report incidents using the appropriate channels.