Anti-Social Behaviour

Local picture | What we're doing | Reporting and getting assistance | Further Information 

By law anti-social behaviour is defined under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as "behaviour which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress". In everyday life anti-social behaviour can have an extremely negative impact on individuals and communities going about their lawful business. Anti-social behaviour comes in may forms and can sometimes be unintentional. In other circumstances it can be directed and very intentional. Either way, the impact of the behaviour is never overlooked by the work of the Brighton & Hove Anti-Social Behaviour Team.

The local picture

Information about anti-social behaviour in the city is available here.

What we’re doing

The work of the Brighton and Hove Anti-Social Behaviour Team is to tackle and reduce anti-social behaviour across the whole city.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Team is a dedicated multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team that responds to individual and community concerns by using a balance of enforcement, support and diversionary activities to tackle and reduce anti-social behaviour. The ASB Team is made up of a Caseworker Team, a Street Outreach Team, a dedicated ASB solicitor, an ASB police officer and a Police Community Support Officer. It also links with the work of the Family Intervention Project (FIP).

In an average year, the Anti-Social Behaviour Team deals with almost 3,000 complaints, incidents and reports of anti-social behaviour, which results in 300 anti-social behaviour cases being dealt with by the team (based on 2007/08 figures). These cases are held by the team who work in close partnership with a range of other agencies, including Sussex Police, Youth Offending Service, probation, schools, social services, mental health teams, substance misuse services, and youth services, council housing services and local housing associations. The objective of the team is to ensure that anti-social behaviour stops.

Brighton & Hove has a designated public places order (DPPO) which was introduced in 2003 to tackle anti-social behaviour related to street drinking. The DPPO gives the police the power to request that a person hands over their drink if they are found being anti-social on the street with alcohol in their possession. Failure to hand over a drink when asked to do so by a police officer is a criminal offence and can result in arrest and on conviction a maximum £500 fine. This order is part of a range of measures to tackle street drinking including regular police patrols and outreach workers who work with individuals to stop anti-social behaviour and help them into accommodation and treatment services.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Team is here to listen to individuals’ and communities’ concerns through individual contact or by sending an officer to attend local community or residents' meetings and to work in partnership to find solutions to problems.

A case study providing an example of the casework undertaken in the Anti-Social Behaviour Team is provided here.

Reporting and getting assistance

To report anti-social behaviour in confidence the Anti-Social Behaviour Team can be contacted on 01273 292929 or by emailing [email protected]. Alternatively, you could record any anti-social behaviour that you witness on diary sheets. Diary sheets are really useful in allowing us to build a picture of what is happening, and make excellent evidence in court. Again, all information given will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Further information

A two page leaflet provides further information around the work going on in the city to tackle anti-social behaviour.

If you wish to tell us about any anti-social behaviour, please use the diary sheets. Guidance on how to fill them in can be found here.

Information on your local neighbourhood policing team is available here.

On the 7th October 2010 new service standards for victims and witnesses of anti-social behaviour were launched in Brighton & Hove.

The UK government official information DirectGov website provides access to local anti-social behaviour information and how this compares with other areas.

In October 2010 we carried out some customer research to assess the victim and Standards in the city. A copy of this report is attached below. For full copy please contact [email protected]