Eight areas to trial new approach to anti-social behaviour complaints

The Home Office has announced plans to trial a new approach to handling complaints of antisocial behaviour, which will include a protocol across local agencies setting out how they will manage cases.

Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, South Wales, Sussex and West Mercia have been earmarked for the trails, which are set to run until 1 July 2011.

The Home Office said the new approaches would be tailored to each area, but would be based on five key principles. Including the new protocols, they are:

• creating an effective call handling system “where each individual has a log of complaints created from the very first call”
• introducing risk assessment tools “to quickly identify the most vulnerable victims”
• installing IT systems “to share information on cases between agencies, removing the need for meetings”
• engaging with the community “to clearly set out the issues which are causing the most harm to individuals and neighbourhoods, and setting out how the police, other local agencies and the public can work together to address them”.

The trials come amid concerns that vulnerable victims of anti-social behaviour have previously slipped through the net.

The government said it wants to see responsibility and control for tackling anti-social behaviour move from Whitehall to local agencies and neighbourhoods.

“Building on that principle, the trials are bottom-up, with each volunteer area deciding how to implement the five principles,” the Home Office said.

It added that it would assess each area’s approach at the end of the trial period and publish details about what worked best.

The government has also announced that it will be publishing the results of its review of the existing tools and powers, such as ASBOs, “in the New Year”. It will then launch a consultation on a new way forward in how anti-social behaviour is viewed and tackled.

Crime Prevention Minister James Brokenshire said: “Antisocial behaviour ruins lives, damages our communities and, at its worst, can have tragic consequences. It is essential those who raise the alarm and ask for help are listened to and their complaints acted upon promptly.

“It is not acceptable that those most in need either slip through the net or are plain ignored. The technology exists to allow agencies to introduce a smart way of handling such complaints and a simple way of sharing information – they need to use it.”

Baroness Newlove, the government’s champion for active safer communities, said: “Protecting those who are most vulnerable in our neighbourhoods is essential - after all, we all know who the troublemakers are who live down our street.

“The frustration has been that in some cases it has appeared that nobody has been able to stop them, with tragic results.These changes to the way police handle such complaints will help make our communities safer and more confident places where decent law abiding people feel they are being listened to and supported. This is the new way forward, action not words.”