Antisocial Behaviour and Hate Policy

Interviewing the alleged perpetrator 

In all circumstances where a complaint of ASB has been received, contact will be made with the alleged perpetrator at the earliest opportunity (except in cases where a without notice injunction is being considered or where the complaint is believed to be vexatious). 

During the interview (which can take place either in an office, at the home, or a neutral venue), the alleged perpetrator will be given an impartial and fair opportunity to respond to the allegations or complaints. The investigating officer will be responsible for explaining the consequences of the behaviour, and next steps in the investigation, including the tools available to evidence the nuisance and possible further actions. 

The investigating officer will always document the interview on the ASB case and follow the interview up in writing with the perpetrator. The alleged perpetrator will be spoken to whenever a new complaint is received.

Regular contact will be made or attempted with the alleged perpetrator throughout the investigation. It is our aim to identify why a person is behaving in a certain way in order to resolve the situation in the most effective and efficient way, supporting behaviour change.

Supporting perpetrators to change behaviour

We recognise that some perpetrators may have support needs and that this may be the reason behind the antisocial behaviour. We will actively seek to establish if a perpetrator has support needs at the start of the investigation and seek their consent to make referrals to the appropriate services where appropriate. If a perpetrator is already involved with a support service, we will discuss us sharing information with them.

In some priority cases where urgent legal action is taken, the invitation to discuss support needs may take place with the perpetrator after the action has been taken.

The support will be available throughout the investigation. Supporting perpetrators can often have a positive impact on both the individual and the wider community and helps to prevent displacement of the antisocial behaviour and encourage behaviour change.

Counter allegations

We will remain impartial in all investigations. We will proportionately investigate any counter allegations received. Feedback will be provided to the person who made the complaint, and an action plan agreed, if relevant. 

Gathering evidence

As part of any investigation and progressing both informal and formal actions, we require evidence to support the complaint. We ask our customers to assist us in gathering this evidence as we understand that they are the people who are impacted most.

If legal action is to be considered, we are required to satisfy the courts that the grounds for the particular application, such as Injunction Application or Possession Proceedings, are proven to the required standard of proof. This is on the balance of probabilities. 

The emphasis should be on the detail and quality of the evidence provided. This should include exact dates, times, details of the incident and the impact that this has had. Exact speech, body language and movements are required when describing behaviours of a person. This is needed when the evidence is put in a statement form to present to the courts.

Hearsay evidence is information received from other people that wish to remain anonymous in the investigation or information that has been passed by another party. This evidence can be considered. However, there are limitations with this and the judge being unaware of who is providing the evidence can make it difficult for them to evaluate the evidence. 

If a customer fails to work with us in gathering the evidence and there are no further routes of investigation, the case will be closed.

We will discuss with you the best way for us to gather the evidence required as it can be gathered in different forms detailed below.

Diary of events

This can be shared with the officer by email, paper incident diaries, telephone or any other way that the customer and investigating officer agree.

CCTV or video doorbell footage

Customers can provide footage of incidents from footage that they control and manage. This can be in the form of CCTV or video doorbells. This can be used as evidence with the customer's consent, shared with the court or the investigating officer can detail what they have viewed if required. It is important to note that the customer must also have witnessed and been impacted by this behaviour. CCTV footage cannot be used if the behaviour it has recorded did not impact anyone directly.

Noise recordings

The Noise App can be issued to customers, which will allow short recordings. Investigating officers also have access to noise equipment which can be installed to capture ASB linked to noise if required. 

Professional witnesses

Investigating officers can provide evidence as a professional witness. This could include witnessing the ASB themselves when carrying out tenancy visits, planned sit-ins or noise comparisons. This may also include interviews and conversations had with both the customer and the perpetrator of the ASB. These actions would be detailed in a statement provided by the officer to support the relevant action. Statements from partner agencies may also be used as evidence.