Issue - meetings

This joint Community Safety Plan sets out the Partnership’s Community Safety work for the next three years with emphasis on the recent Bath & North East Somerset Council Scrutiny Inquiry Day on Community Safety, which identified the benefits of partnership working.

Sgt Jon Bagnowiec and Victoria Jeffries (ASB Co-ordinator) briefed the Panel on recent Antisocial Behaviour in Keynsham.

Victoria Jeffries explained that there are three main categories for antisocial behaviour, depending on how many people are affected:

• Personal antisocial behaviour is when a person targets a specific individual or group.

• Nuisance antisocial behaviour is when a person causes trouble, annoyance or suffering to a community.

• Environmental antisocial behaviour is when a person’s actions affect the wider environment, such as public spaces or buildings.

She said that the Police fully understand the impact that Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) can have on communities and individuals. She added that services such as Lighthouse were available for victim support.

She informed the Panel of the new powers following the implementation of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

·  Criminal Behaviour Order – Issued by the courts after a person has been convicted for a criminal offence. Under the order, a person who has been convicted would be banned from certain activities or places, and would also be required to address their behaviour, for example by attending a drug treatment programme. A breach could see an adult face up to five years in prison.

• Police Dispersal Power – Allows the police to disperse anti-social individuals and provide short-term respite to a local community. The power is preventative and allows an officer to deal instantly with someone’s behaviour in a particular place and to confiscate related items.

• Community Protection Notice - Enables local authorities and police to stop persistent environmental anti-social behaviour, like graffiti, neighbour noise or rubbish on private land.

• Public Spaces Protection Order – A power which allows a local council to deal with a particular nuisance or problem that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life by imposing universal conditions on the use of that area. This can be used to tackle issues like dog fouling and restricting the consumption of alcohol.

• Closure Power – Allows the police or local council to close premises where anti-social behaviour has been committed, or was likely to be committed.
• Absolute Ground for Possession – Will speed up the possession process in cases where anti-social behaviour or criminality has already been proven by another court.

Giving victims a say

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 also includes two new measures which are designed to give victims and communities a say in the way anti-social behaviour is dealt with:

• Community Trigger – Gives victims the ability to demand action, starting with a review of their case, where the locally defined threshold is met.

• Community Remedy – Gives victims a say in the out-of-court punishment of perpetrators for low-level crime and anti-social behaviour.

She stated that warning letters can also be sent to perpetrators of antisocial behaviour prior to them agreeing to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract which can be in place for six months. She said that in some cases parents may also be asked to agree to certain contract conditions.

Councillor Dine  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21