Our commitment to your area
Everybody deserves to live in a place where they can feel safe and secure and feel proud about their local community. Our sustainable communities team work tirelessly to give you the peace of mind that you, your family and your home are being well looked after.
We take a proactive approach to making sure you feel comfortable in and around your neighbourhood – from investing in estate improvements to organising street cleaning days.
We also work with a range of partner organisations to keep things tidy and prevent and tackle crime.
Antisocial behaviour
We’re here to support you when there are issues in your neighbourhood.
Antisocial behaviour (ASB) is something that causes – or is likely to cause – nuisance of annoyance to other people. It can be very wide-ranging and can seriously affect people’s lives.
- Excessive noise
- Verbal abuse, harassment or intimidation, such as shouting or swearing
- Drug use near where you live
- Damage to property, including graffiti (criminal damage should be reported to the police)
- Dropping rubbish or fly-tipping
- Being drunk and rowdy in public
- Children playing considerately
- Neighbour disputes without breaches of tenancy
- Parking disputes (vehicles causing an obstruction or blocking access are dealt with by the police, while vehicles parked on single and double yellow lines are dealt with by your local council)
- Everyday noise (the law states that people should tolerate a ‘reasonable’ amount of noise caused by people living their normal lives. We sometimes receive complaints about banging doors and late-night arrivals and departures – these are not classed as noise nuisances)
How we can help
Our antisocial behaviour policy outlines what we class as antisocial behaviour and goes through the ways we tackle it in the community.
Most things can usually be worked through by talking, and we can help with this. But when persistent issues come up, we’ll work with our partner agencies to tackle the behaviour and take action if necessary.
In many cases, early intervention resolves the issues.
We work very closely with the police and have a multi-agency approach to dealing with complaints of antisocial behaviour. Our team investigate all complaints and use a range of tools to gather evidence, including noise recording equipment amongst other things.
When we investigate, we’ll interview the people involved and take enforcement action if necessary. We will never share who has made a complaint, but in some cases it may be obvious. We could use Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, Unacceptable Behaviour Warnings, mediation or restorative justice – and even remove people from our homes. We will also help and support people affected.
What you can do
There are many ways to prevent antisocial behaviour and be part of a great community.
We have put together a guide for how to be a good neighbour to give some tips on how you can play your part in keeping your local area safe and happy.
But if you are experiencing problems, there are a few steps you could take to resolve issues:
- Talk to the people causing the issues in a friendly and calm way – they may be unaware they are causing a problem for you.
- Keep a diary of incidents, providing as much detail as possible – these can be used as evidence if the case escalates.
- Consider getting help from a solicitor, Citizens Advice or Shelter.
- Always call the police if you are a victim of a crime. Call 101 to contact your local policing team or dial 999 in an emergency.
What happens with my complaint?
If you tell us about antisocial behaviour, we will:
- Take you seriously and investigate the incident
- Allocate you a dedicated case office and tell you who they are
- Speak to you within one to five working days, depending on the seriousness of your case
- Work with you to gather evidence (where appropriate, you’ll be asked to complete a diary sheet to record further incidences)
- Contact you at least every two weeks to keep you up to date with what we’re doing
- Tell you what we have done to deal with the issue, or explain why we can’t take action
- Offer support to you and any witnesses, and tell you about other organisations which can help, such as Victim Support
- Contact you for feedback following the closure of your case so we can improve our service
We may have to share information with our partner agencies such as the police or the courts in line with relevant legislation, but we’ll keep you informed.
If you feel your complaint has not been appropriately dealt with, you could seek support through an independent ASB Case Review.
Criminal behaviour
We also work with relevant partner agencies to prevent and tackle criminal offences, such as hate crimes, mate crime and domestic violence.
A hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived by someone to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s:
- Disability
- Gender
- Nationality
- Race
- Religion
- Sexual orientation
If you are a victim of, or a witness to, a hate crime, please report it to the police or contact Stop Hate UK on 0800 138 1625.
Mate crime is defined as a crime where someone becomes friends with a vulnerable person to try and exploit them financially, physically or sexually.
If you believe that someone is being exploited, please contact the police.
Domestic abuse can come in many forms from the people we know, including:
- Physical and sexual violence
- Living in fear of further violence
- Threats of violence or harming children
- Breaking objects, hurting pets and using abusive language
- Isolating an individual from family and friends
- Controlling behaviour, such as access to money or depriving a person of their independence
- Coercive behaviour, such as frightening, humiliating or intimidating someone.
If you think you – or someone you know – are a victim of domestic abuse, we will investigate in a sensitive way. We will support you and ensure confidentiality at all times, work in partnership with relevant agencies and take appropriate action if necessary. We can also offer additional safety features for your home, including sensor lights, door chains, lock changes and external letter boxes.
You may also find support yourself from agencies like:
Grounds maintenance
We work with two specialist organisations to carry out grounds maintenance works including grass and hedge cuts, shrub maintenance and weed treatment in communal ‘green’ areas.
Works in the East Lindsey, Lincoln, North East Lincolnshire, North Kesteven, North Lincolnshire and West Lindsey is carried out by Continental Landscapes.
Work covering Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Doncaster, Gedling, Mansfield, Rotherham and Sheffield is currently carried out by Gould Landscape Services.
