Organisations join forces to tackle anti-social behaviour in Wiltshire

We are proud to be supporting this year’s national campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB), together with multiple agencies from around the county.

Taking place from today (Monday 3 July) to Sunday 9 July, the week aims to empower our communities to take a stand against ASB and highlight the actions that can be taken by those experiencing it.

Organised by Resolve, the UK’s leading ASB and community safety organisation, the week will feature a series of events and awareness driving campaigns all across the UK involving Councils, Police Forces, Housing Associations, charities, community groups and sports clubs.

We know antisocial behaviour can adversely affect people’s everyday lives - we all deserve to live free from intimidation and harassment and we will endeavour to deal with those perpetrators, together with our partner agencies. We are committed to tackling it, as it can have a lasting impact upon our communities which we are dedicated to protecting.

We know it’s not a low-level crime, it can be devastating for those who become victim to it, and can it be a pre-curser to more serious crime. Often people even consider moving house to escape antisocial behaviour. Official statistics show ASB accounted for 28% of total police recorded crime in year ending September 2021, with around 1.7 million incidents recorded.

This week is a great opportunity to focus our efforts and ensure our approach alongside our local authorities and agencies is cohesive and robust. Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing more about what antisocial behaviour is, what it isn’t and what we can all do to assist victims of ASB.

Wiltshire Police Superintendent Liz Coles commented: “We are urging members of the public not to suffer in silence if they experience antisocial behaviour. We are committed to keeping Wiltshire safe and giving it the priority it deserves so that people feel safe in their homes and when out and about.

“People may consider loud noises from their neighbours, groups of youths or even comments made on social media as antisocial behaviour but in reality, the law defines it as ‘conduct that is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, or cause nuisance or annoyance’. It includes behaviour such as graffiti, drug taking or dealing, drunken behaviour, or being abusive or aggressive.

“Incidents can be reported to the anti-social behaviour team at our local Council, or directly to us if people feel that they are at immediate risk or in danger.

“But support doesn’t end there, if you’ve been a victim of persistent ASB but you don’t feel the response hasn’t been satisfactory, you can have it reviewed using the ASB Case Review tool, also known the Community Trigger.

Details of ASB, how to report it and when you can have a case reviewed, can all be found at: Wiltshire Safeguarding Vulnerable People Partnership (SVPP) - Anti-social behaviour (wiltshiresvpp.org.uk)

Got any questions? Have your say and ask our experts at Microsoft Forms. We’ll be sharing the most frequently asked questions on our social media.

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