Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

There is often an overlap between anti-social behaviour and crime or a grey area when people don’t know what to do or who to report it to.

For example, if a group break into an entrance door of a block of flats to sit in there and smoke cannabis, whilst their behaviour can cause a nuisance to residents, two criminal acts have taken place – the criminal damage to the door, and using cannabis.

If in doubt, it is always recommended that the Police are notified. Here are some typical examples of behaviours which are anti-social in nature, but are clearly criminal:

• Drug use and dealing
• Begging
• Inappropriate sexual acts, for example, flashing
• Fighting
• Threats or intimidation – either face-to-face, via text messages or social media
• Harassment – either face-to-face, via text messages or social media
• Hate crime – abuse based on race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, disability or age
• Criminal damage / vandalism (for example to buildings, park equipment)

The Council often get calls about incidents which have happened over the weekend or the previous evening where these types of behaviour have occurred, but the Police was not informed. The opportunity has been missed for the Police to attend and potentially apprehend the perpetrators and gather valuable evidence.

Last updated Tuesday, 28th March 2023

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