Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is emerging as a central battleground for the next election, as parties on both sides call for a crackdown through tougher measures.
Too-often downplayed as a petty, ‘low-level’ crime, ASB can have a devastating – and in some cases, irreversible - impact on individuals and families.
A home should be a person’s sanctuary, their safe haven, not a place residents fear and avoid. To suffer from ASB is an ordeal that causes misery, disturbs sleep, affects work and impacts relationships – leaving the victim feeling unsafe and afraid in their own homes.
Providing a safe, secure and good quality home is critical to what a social landlord does and a responsibility that can never be taken lightly. It is up to us to ensure victims get the response they deserve and a chance at a fresh start in life.
ASB is not all about enforcement; it’s about understanding our residents and their histories and using the legislation to support victims and the vulnerable. Perpetrators of anti-social behaviour can be highly vulnerable individuals, to whom we also have a duty of care.
As an ASB officer working at L&Q, I’m defined by what I am not. I’m not a police officer: I can’t arrest people. I’m not a social worker: I can’t put children into care. I’m not a judge: I can’t grant legal orders. Being an effective ASB officer means knitting all of those services together to make a big difference to people’s lives.
My job is to be a fact-finder. Not one case is the same and each requires careful unpicking and specialist skills in collecting evidence and utilising our tools and powers to find the appropriate resolution.
The cases we manage are highly sensitive and involve an intensive amount of work: supporting victims and building their confidence to give written statements or attend court; locality-based working and investing in local partnerships, including the police, health providers and fire service; coordinating an action plan, shared problem solving and putting in place protection orders.
Over the last year, our ASB team resolved 880 cases, and we currently have 481 cases that we are looking into.
In 2022, L&Q’s return to a patch-based structure meant we put specialists in place to help our frontline colleagues to deal with complex anti-social behaviour. Having a dedicated team takes pressure off our frontline housing officers, enabling them to focus on the day-to-day housing role.
It also means victims of ASB receive a dedicated service from specialist staff with the expertise and contacts needed to secure the best outcome.
Where successful, the work is highly rewarding, whilst other cases have brought into sharp relief the limits of the tools and powers at our disposal. A lack of understanding of the ASB role has caused an imbalance between expectations of social landlords and the investigative skills we possess.
A reduction in other community services, particularly mental health, youth services and community police services, has led to greater complexity around ASB and a greater burden on landlords to fill the gaps.
The biggest challenge remains around re-housing victims. A recent survey commissioned by Inside Housing found that anti-social behaviour is driving 1 in 7 people to move home in the UK, but the housing crisis means relocation isn’t always possible.
Already at critical levels, the number of people in need of social housing is rising rapidly thanks to the cost-of-living crisis, with the current waiting list for a social home at 1.2m. Re-housing also isn’t always the answer – moving to an area with no local support network can be detrimental to families.
However, for some residents, such as parents with children at risk of harm from gangs, the safest thing to do is to move. Time and time again we see families stuck in danger, with a lack of available homes leaving them with nowhere else to go.
The Pan-London Housing Reciprocal is a scheme that means people with social tenancies, who are at serious risk of harm, can access another social tenancy in a different borough in London and remain safe. We are proud to be participants in this Safer London agreement, taking on homes that are available for residents in need.
This is a shared responsibility among housing providers, and we are actively offering homes to other social landlords for their residents.
With pressures building, we hope the current financial climate will be a catalyst for others to look for similarly efficient ways to work together for the benefit of ASB victims.
Housing associations have a key role to play in stamping out ASB, but we know that the drivers of this behaviour are often complex, with mental health, drug and alcohol misuse requiring specialist attention.
We must do better for victims of anti-social behaviour, and that is why we are calling for a strengthened partnership response.
Let’s build on a positive that came from the pandemic – service providers coming together – and support communities to become safer places for all.