Councillor Andrea Davison, North Lincs

problems you may face in your street or in your

community.

There are lots of different types of anti-social behaviour,

including vandalism, abuse, noisy neighbours and

fireworks.

Many of the problems featured in this handbook are

criminal offences and can be dealt with by the police.

Local councils also have powers to deal with some of the

problems and nuisance behaviour.

This handbook describes many of the problems and lists

the relevant law - so you have the information to request

action from the police and/or your local council.

This handbook will help you use the law to keep you, your

family and your community safe.

However, never put yourself in danger. This handbook

is not about encouraging you to be a have-a-go-hero:

year-long problem. Not only are they noisy and

cause alarm amongst residents and domestic

animals, but they can also be very dangerous.

There are a range of measures to deal with

the problems caused by the irresponsible use

of fireworks but if you feel that you are in any

danger call the police immediately.

This is illegal and you should contact the police

immediately. It is also an offence for anyone

under the age of 18 to be in possession of a

firework in a public place. Anyone found guilty

can be issued with an on-the-spot fine by the

police, or a court fine of up to £5,000.

The Law

thoroughfare or public place. In addition, under the Fireworks Regulations 2004, it

is an offence for anyone under the age of 18 to possess fireworks in a public place.

The Government have imposed a curfew on

the use of fireworks between 11pm to 7am so

if a display is taking place between these hours

you are within your rights to call the police. If

the problem is happening every night, then you

can call the Environmental Health Officers at the

council and ask them to intervene.

It is an offence to cause any unnecessary

suffering to domestic or captive animals, and the

fines are heavy: up to six months imprisonment,

a fine of up to £5,000 or both. Depending on the

severity of the noise, contact the police, Trading

Standards, or the RSPCA.

The Law

The Government have imposed a curfew on the use of fireworks during the night

(11pm-7am - except on Bonfire Night when the curfew starts at midnight, and New

Year when it starts at 1am).

Excessive noise from fireworks could be deemed a nuisance under Part III of the

The Law

Under Section 1 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911 it is an offence to cause

any unnecessary suffering to any domestic or captive animals.

are a number of actions you can take against the

vandal as well as getting the damage repaired.

According to the law, anybody who destroys

or damages property is guilty of a criminal

offence, punishable by a prison sentence of up

to 10 years. If someone is found to be carrying

anything that they intend to use to vandalise

property they are liable for the same sentence.

If the vandal uses racist language - for example

in graffiti or towards the victim - they are guilty

of a ‘racially aggravated criminal offence', which

carries a sentence of up to 14 years.

If you see someone vandalising or you believe

that they might be planning to, call the police

immediately.

The Law

Under Section 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1971 any person who unlawfully

destroys or damages property is guilty of a criminal offence;

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 introduced the ‘racially aggravated criminal

offence' which is committed when the offender uses aggressive or threatening

language either before or after the offence.

the Bassetlaw anti-social behaviour handbook

The Council can force the owners of the property

that has been vandalised to clean it up, and you

should contact the Environmental Health Officers

to make this happen.

The Law

A local authority (County or District Council) can serve a ‘defacement removal

notice' on the owners of the property under Sections 48, 49, 50, 51, and 52 of the

their property.

in the open air or to dump waste in a public or

private space not reserved for the purpose (like a

council rubbish tip). If you see anyone fly tipping,

call the police. Whilst littering is punishable by

a fine imposed by a magistrates court, it is not

always possible for the police to arrest everyone

who drops a small amount of litter, but fixed

penalty notices of £75 can be issued instead.

There are unlimited penalties for anyone caught

fly tipping and it is no longer a defence for the

person caught to claim they were doing so on the

instructions of their employer.

The law requires local authorities and

organisations to clear waste off their land, and

also gives them powers to force other landowners

to clear any litter on their land.

the Bassetlaw anti-social behaviour handbook

Abandoned shopping trolleys can be dealt with by

informing the Environmental Health Officer at the

local council and asking them to remove them.

The Law

dump waste in a public or private space not reserved for the purpose.

drop litter anywhere in the open air.

and certain other organisations such as Network Rail and the Highways Agency to

clear litter from land and highways.

The Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 gives local authorities

powers to require businesses and individuals to clear any litter they create and any

litter on the land they own.

The Law

to remove shopping trolleys and recover the cost of doing so from their owners.

streets as an unofficial car-showroom for the

vehicles they are trying to sell, can be dealt with

by contacting the council.

The Council has the power to remove abandoned

vehicles from the streets and can also deal with

vehicles that are either being sold or mended on

the side of the road as part of a business.

There are a number of measures that the police

can use to stop joyriders, including seizing cars

they believe have been stolen, or simply arresting

them for theft.

The Law

powers to remove abandoned cars from the streets immediately. It also creates two

new offences to help local authorities deal with the problem:

Offering for sale two or more vehicles as part of a business;

Repairing a vehicle on the road as part of a business.

Some areas, such as car parks or residential

areas where there are a lot of cars, suffer from

continued problems with gangs of youths stealing

cars in order to joyride. There are a range of

powers, including ASBOs and dispersal orders

that can be used but prosecution will be sought

where possible.

If you suspect that a vehicle has been stolen,

call the police. If you are worried that a gang or a

certain individual is becoming a problem, contact

your ASBO officer at the council.

The Law

Joyriding is not currently a specific offence in England and Wales but other more

general offences are often relevant. These include ‘taking and driving away' and

‘aggravated vehicle taking' - where ‘taking and driving away' results in injury or

they believe to be stolen if they think it is in danger of being lost or damaged.

vehicles after a warning from joyriders and nuisance drivers both on and off the

road.

Mini-motos can be ridden on private land so long

as it does not cause a statutory nuisance. Private

land does not include housing estates or parks.

In virtually all cases it is illegal to ride mini-motos

on the road.

Officially mini-motos are classed as motor

vehicles under the Road Traffic Act 1988, and

therefore they need to be road worthy. Most minimotos

do not meet these requirements. Even if

they did, to ride a mini-moto on the road it would

need to be taxed, insured and registered with the

DVLA.

The Law

If a mini-moto is ridden on the road without due care and attention, or off-road

including on footpaths and common land in a manner which causes alarm, distress

or annoyance then under Sections 3 and 34 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 the

When a mini-moto has been seized it will be crushed after the minimum storage

period if the owner does not pay the appropriate fees or produce the correct legal

documents.

The Noise Act 1996 and the Environmental Protection Act 1990 can be used to

take action where mini-motos and other vehicles are creating a noise nuisance.

vulnerable residents to feel threatened and

anxious. There are a range of measures available

to deal with this problem, depending on what the

situation is.

Unsupervised youths on the street at night are

a concern, particularly if the area has a problem

with anti-social behaviour. If it does, the police

have powers to move the groups away and

between the hours of 9pm and 6am they can take

home unsupervised children under the age of ten

if they designate the area as problematic.

Truanting children can be a source of anti-social

behaviour, but the Young Offending Team at the

police station has powers to force parents to

take responsibility for their offspring. You should

contact them with the details of the truanting

child.

Because the law does not recognise criminal

responsibility in children under the age of ten,

they cannot be arrested or charged by the police.

However, the council has powers to force the

parents to enter into a ‘parenting contract'

whereby they are responsible for their child's

behaviour.

If none of the measures fully suit, there is always

the option of imposing an ASBO if the problem

is recurring and it's the same individuals causing

the distress.

The Law

where there is a large and persistent problem of anti-social behaviour. Once the

area has been designated, the police have powers to disperse groups and take

unsupervised children under the age of ten home between the hours of 9pm and

6am.

Education Authorities the power to enter into Parenting Contracts with the parents

of a child who has truanted or been excluded from school;

the parents of a child who has committed or is likely to commit crime or anti-social

behaviour.

Children under the age of ten are under the legal age of criminal responsibility so

impose a parenting order to force the parents to stop the child's behaviour, working

alongside a "responsible officer" which could be a social worker or a member of the

youth offending team.

behaviour, or underage drinking in a particular

pub or club, then a senior police officer can

make a "closure order". A closure order stays in

place initially for a maximum of 24 hours with a

possible extension of a further 24 hours if certain

conditions are met.

To get a closure order imposed, you must contact

the police.

The Law

The Licensing Act 2003 allows the closure of pubs and clubs at short notice. The

measures include:

where disorder is occurring or is anticipated.

premises if he reasonably believes that there is or is likely to be disorder in or

around the premises and the closure is necessary to protect public safety.

public nuisance is being caused by noise coming from the premises and closure is

necessary to prevent that nuisance.

Young people under the age of eighteen are not

allowed to consume alcohol in a public place and

the police and community support officers have

powers to confiscate alcohol from young people

who are drinking or intend to drink alcohol. If the

person refuses to cooperate, this is an offence,

and if they refuse to hand over their alcohol,

they can be prosecuted or the officer can issue a

"penalty notice for disorder" for £50. You should

call the police to report this kind of antisocial

behaviour.

The Law

Police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have the power to

to confiscate alcohol from people who are consuming or intend to consume alcohol

in a public place.

against nuisance neighbours, but it depends on

what kind of housing you or the nuisance lives in.

The courts have the power to grant injunctions

against anti-social behaviour with the possibility

of attaching a power of arrest. Injunctions are

a swift, inexpensive and effective means of

stopping anti-social behaviour. Local authority

landlords and registered social landlords may

currently apply to the court for such injunctions.

Local authority landlords may apply for these

orders against anyone who has used or

threatened violence against someone else going

about their lawful business in the locality of the

local authority housing stock, but landlords of

other types of social housing can apply for orders

only against their own tenants. You have to

provide evidence of the activity

complained of and the court must conclude that

there will be a continued threat of harm if the

order is not granted.

In this instance you should contact your landlord

to discuss the possibility of an injunction but if

you feel in immediate danger, you should call the

police.

The Law

allowing certain social landlords to apply for injunctions to prohibit antisocial

behaviour that affects the management of their housing stock:

court injunctions to exclude perpetrators of anti-social behaviour from a specified

area and, if necessary, their home. Landlords of charitable housing trusts will have

to establish that the behaviour in question constitutes a breach of the respondent's

tenancy agreement;

nuisance or annoyance to residents of the landlord, visitors to the premises or

locality, or staff employed by the landlord in connection with stock management.

This is aimed at widening the range of people who can be protected from the

perpetrators of anti-social behaviour;

It will not be necessary for the anti-social behaviour to have occurred in the

vicinity of the landlord's housing but there will still need to be a connection with the

landlord's management of its accommodation;

to residents of the landlord, visitors to the premises or locality, or staff employed by

the landlord, even if there has been no actual or threatened violence. Significant

risk of harm could include emotional or psychological harm.

Private landlords are not responsible for the

actions of their tenants, but as long as they have

not "authorised" the anti-social behaviour, there

are a number of remedies available to them.

A landlord has the power to evict a shorthold

tenant under the Housing Act 1998, and if the

tenant living in the house is guilty of behaviour

that has caused or is likely to cause nuisance or

annoyance to a person residing or going about

their business in the area then the landlord can

seek a court order for eviction. This applies if the

tenant or a person living in the property is using

the house to deal drugs or for prostitution.

As a first step, you should advise the landlord or

the managing agent of the property concerned

that the tenant is causing a nuisance. The

remedies available to you will depend on

the nature of the nuisance. For example, if

the nuisance is mainly to do with noise, the

environmental health department of the council

may be able to assist, but if the nuisance is

harassment or intimidation then you should

contact the police.

New powers for tenants to tackle anti-social

behaviour becomes law from summer 2007. For

the first time where the local council chooses

to grant this power, Tenant Management

Organisations will have the power to apply for

ASBOs on their estates.

As eviction is not an option in this situation, you

could ask for an ASBO to be put on the occupier,

and there are provisions to enable the police or

local authority to place an Order on the individual

stopping them from behaving in a way that

"causes innocent people distress or fear".

The Law

may seek to evict a shorthold tenant. Ground 14 allows a landlord to seek a court

order for eviction under the Housing Act 1996.

Local authorities have the power under the Environment and Protection Act 1990

to act against private tenants and others who cause a nuisance to neighbours.

Under Section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972 a local authority can obtain

orders to promote or protect the interests of the inhabitants of the area.

neighbour, the first solution may be to speak

directly to the neighbour about your concerns.

The neighbour could be unaware that they are

causing a problem and an amicable conclusion

may be reached.

Failing this, the next step would be to complain

to the local environmental health office at the

local authority. They have a duty to investigate

noise complaints where reasonable and they will

determine whether the noise is indeed a nuisance

in statutory terms. It may be that the noise is

intermittent and therefore a diary of the noise

may have to be kept to create a record of the

nuisance. It may also be necessary to use noise

monitoring equipment. This process may take

some time before further steps can be taken.

Once it is accepted that noise is causing a

nuisance, the local authority may serve an

abatement notice requiring the nuisance to be

stopped. Fines may be issued if the nuisance

continues.

The Law

health officer to declare a situation concerning noise a statutory nuisance and serve

an abatement notice to the responsible person or attach an abatement notice to a

premises.

between the hours of 11pm to 7am which enables to police to issue a £100 fixed

penalty notice and seize any noise making equipment.

or travellers, and have powers to direct people

to leave the land and remove any vehicles or

property they have with them if they believe:

one vehicle on the land;

suitable caravan sites available.

The legal occupier of the land does not have

to prove that he has taken reasonable steps to

ask them to leave, and there is no need for a

written notice to be served. It is an offence for

the travellers to fail to leave the land or enter any

land in the local authority area as a trespasser

within three months and with the intention of

residing there. If they do, the penalties are

imprisonment of up to three months, a fine or

both.

The Law

without a warning being issued by the landowner as long as they have reasonable

belief that trespassing is taking place.

to help assist those who are victims of stalking

and harassment. This can include problems

with abusive neighbours or the intimidation of

individuals. For example, there has been growing

concern about women being harassed by former

partners although victims are not necessarily

exclusively female.

Examples include verbal abuse, physical abuse

or threat of physical abuse, or intimidation. This

could take the form of loitering outside your

house or following you, nuisance phonecalls, text

messages or emails.

As this kind of behaviour is a criminal offence you

are advised to take the following action:

Report to the police IMMEDIATELY after

an incident occurs and make sure you get

issued a crime or incident number

Keep a diary of the incidents and keep it in

a safe place

Discreetly make family and friends aware

of your situation but do not get a friend to

‘warn off' the perpetrator as this may count

against you when you get to court. It is

not unknown for such people to claim that

you've been stalking them rather than the

other way around

If the harassment is occuring in your place

of work, confidentially inform your manager

or trade union if this is possible and keep a

note of all incidents. If the problem is arising

from a neighbour, please see the section on

The Law

Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, harassment is defined as

causing alarm or distress.

Criminal harassment is an offence dealt with by the magistrates' court and carries

a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment and/or a £1,000 fine. The court

can make a restraining order which if breached carries a maximum sentence of five

years imprisonment.

In addition to the criminal sanction, a civil court can also impose civil injunctions in

harassment cases as well as awarding damages to the victim for the harassment.

Breach of such an injunction is a criminal offence.

If you are unfortunate enough to experience anti-social behaviour, or if you witness

anti-social behaviour, you should keep a written record. This is helpful when reporting

incidents to the police.

Use these pages to keep notes; remembering to write down when (date and time) and

where (exact locations) any incidents happen.

When you report incidents to the police or council you should note down who you

speak to, when you spoke to them, what they said they would do and ask for an

incident number.

Cllr Davison accepts no liability for action you may decide to take against

anti-social behaviour in your community. This handbook is a guide to the law

and relevant legislation. You should always refer incidents to the Police and take

appropriate legal advice when required.

You should never take the law into your own hands.

This handbook is designed to help you deal with anti-social

behaviour in your community: it is about making the law

work for you.

It provides an easy-to-use overview of the key laws for

nuisances and anti-social behaviour problems.

www.johnmannmp.com

Ashby Community Website

North Lincolnshire Council - Home

this is scunthorpe - news, entertainment, jobs, homes and cars - Scunthorpe Telegraph's website

The new Lakeside development is coming on rapidly. The new build houses seem to have appeared overnight! Mick, John and I are lobbying constantly to get the new through road from Timberland to Lakeside opened up. There is a problem with one of the developers, but we are assured that this will happen sooner rather than later.

We've just had our monthly Neighbourhood Action Team (NAT) meeting where local people from resident's associations, local business, Local Police Team, Youth Service, North Lincolnshire Homes and others get together to discuss local issues and problems. Now, don't shoot the messenger, but apparently all is fairly quiet at the moment and antisocial behaviour is a lessening problem. There are a few issues in the Hillary Road area but I understand extra patrols will cover this which should help.

As I mentioned in another blog, congrats to Conrad and the police team for setting up the youth group, ACTIV on a Monday night at the Ashby Community Centre.

I  chair the Safer & Stronger Communities Scrutiny Panel and we are currently undertaking a review on Domestic Violence to find out exactly what support is available to victims and their families.

Surpisingly perhaps, there are many more people involved than you might imagine, and a huge willingness/enthusiasm to do more. However, there is much still that could be done and we are hoping to be able to assist in terms of exploring all the options.

Domestic Violence (DV) is high on the government's agenda at the moment and is a local police priority. The police do have a Domestic Violence Unit. The council has its own DV champion, Diana, and she is assisting the Scrutiny Panel to conduct this review.

Gone are the days when DV would simply be brushed under the carpet as a 'domestic'. There is little tolerance now for perpetrators both men and women and many agencies working together to assist victims and their families. There is refuge provision in Scunthorpe and there are plans to make more places available soon which are desperately needed. There is also much work done with other authorities to help victims who cannot stay in the area due to threats and fear.

One issue that is very difficult to delve into however, is Honour Based Violence and Forced Marriages amongst groups from ethnic minorities. Perhaps it is not as big an issue here in North Lincs as it is in some other parts of the country, but allegedly, it is still happening. There is a perception that forced marriages are unfortunately still taking place and young girls are still disappearing from our education system, sometimes possibly to be sent back to their countries of origin to marry someone they have never met against their will. The culture, is often that things that happen within families should stay that way and no outside influences should be encouraged, or even allowed, meaning that many cases are never reported. We attended a local conference on this issue and this is something that people are becoming more and more aware of. The Home Office has a separate Forced Marriage Unit.

What we are hoping to achieve here, is to raise the profile of DV and the help available, and make this help more easily accessible so that if people are victims, are suffering in silence, then they know where to go to get the help they need.

We have many people still to talk to and this review is taking slightly longer than anticipated but I certainly think it's one worth doing well.

If anyone reading this would like to talk to someone in relation to Domestic Violence, ring 0845 6060 222 and ask to be put through to the Domestic Violence Unit. This can be completely confidential and they are there to help. Alternatively, you can ring the National Domestic Violence Helpline which is run in partnership by Women's Aid and Refuge (freephone 24 hrs) 0808 2000 247.

Local resident Conrad Broughton deserves total credit for his work in setting up a new youth scheme aimed at the under 12's at Ashby Community Centre on Mondays from 4-6pm.

Conrad, along with other residents and the local community police team have held their first ACTIV (Ashby Community Team Involvement Venue) session and approximately 32 youngsters attended. Non-contact boxing and football are among the sports offered.

Constable Phil O'Neill, and PCSO's Karen Brader and Steve Barraclough have also given up their own time to help and support this venue.

I think this is a wonderful scheme and is an excellent example of what can be achieved by local residents who want to support their communities.

Ashby also has 'StreetSport' on Fridays on Everest Road which is another very popular scheme, and is very well attended. However the older youths tend to come along to this and so something for the younger age group was sorely needed.

Many residents perceive that youths have 'nothing to do' in our area. Now we have ACTIV on Mondays, the youth club at Ashby Wesley Church on Wednesdays and StreetSport on Fridays.

Conrad and his team managed this with no funding whatsoever and are charging only £1 per session to cover costs of the  Community Centre. I cannot praise everyone enough for this. Well done!!!

I don't want to be rude...but who on earth came up with such a hair-brained scheme as reducing the Queensway down to one lane??

It's a major artery into and through Scunthorpe. We've already heard the plans to merge Kingsway with Doncaster Road, therefore reducing 2 roads into one, and now this!

Anyone who uses the Queensway in rush hour will have read the article in the Telegraph (1/11/07) might have been mistaken for thinking it was April Fools! Can you imagine how long it would take to get to work in the mornings? You couldn't detour onto Ashby Road because the last consultants North Lincolnshire Council used, put such an effective set of traffic signals in that traffic moves at a snails pace and it takes approximately 20 minutes to travel half a mile. I wonder if it's the same set of consultants?

Let your views on this be known!!  

At this month's Ashby NAT (neighbourhood action team), we had a long discussion about the problems of antisocial behaviour, particularly in the Southfield/Eastfield Road area. As a result, we've introduced a SARA; Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment. Identifying that an area requires a SARA effectively means that more resources, time, energy and people power might be used to try and sort it out. By next month we should have carried out an estate inspection and had the poor street lighting fixed. Also, some of the problem properties may receive visits!

See below for a more detailed explanation of a SARA.

"It is of use to crime reduction practitioners in any field as applying the process can ensure that a crime problem is effectively identified and tackled, avoiding any waste of time and resources if only part of the actual problem is identified. SARA is also commonly used within the police service, so an understanding of the process may help partner organisations to work with the police to tackle local problems.

Its four stages are:

Scanning - spotting problems using knowledge, basic data and electronic maps

Analysis - using hunches and information technology to dig deeper into problems' characteristics and underlying causes

Response - devising a solution, working with the community, wherever possible

Assessment - looking back to see if the solution worked and what lessons can be learned."

It was the Ashby NAT (neighbourhood action team) meeting last night; resident's associations, neighbourhood watch groups, police, north lincolnshire homes and safer neighbourhoods were all represented. We're trying to encourage more of the business sector to attend as they do suffer antisocial behaviour problems, especially on Ashby High Street.

The main issue for the NAT to take forward at present is antisocial behaviour, especially in the Southfield/Eastfield Road area, so watch out all you yobs!

 Some dates for your diary: next Friday 28th September, although not strictly in Ashby, one of the residents associations in Lincoln Gardens is running an under 18 event, similar to the old Hypnotize drug and alcohol free disco, at the Lincoln Gardens Community Centre. Tickets are £2.50 and anyone aged 12 to 17 from the locality is welcome (as long as they are drug and alcohol free!). Should be a good night and I understand the DJ's are police officers!

Also, May 24th, 2008 we're hoping to hold a fayre on Everest Road field. Obviously a lot of work to be done yet and this is being run by Pam York, Neighbourhood Watch coordinator for the Derwent Road area. Watch this space for more details as and when.

Well we've had our AGM. Unlike the Tories, we elect all of our positions. The Tories are appointed by their leader. I think our way is much more democratic and if someone doesn't perform very well, they run the risk of not being supported by their group the following year.

The Labour Group has always considered that Scrutiny has an equal role to the Cabinet; something I have always advocated. Scrutiny has an ever increasing responsibility and I feel privileged to have been elected to continue in the role I chose. I will chair the Safer and Stronger Communities panel and along with my colleagues I hope to represent the wishes and views of local people in North Lincolnshire. I hope that we can forge links with local police and other partners to address issues of concern for the communities in which we live.

If anyone has any ideas for future reviews please let me know. Also, there will be an opportunity in the council's Direct Magazine for you to give us your views and ideas.

It's been a tough 4 years in opposition but at last North Lincolnshire is back under Labour control.

Clearly we bucked the national trend and could possibly be the only Labour gain in the whole country. A clear sign that North Lincs has had enough of Tory control.

Sadly, we say goodbye to Nic Dakin, an excellent councillor and Leader. The Labour Group and the Council will miss his calm, sensible ways but our loss is John Leggot College's gain. We also lost Frances Delaney, an excellent ward councillor for the Riddings and Westcliff area for many, many years. Frances is retiring to spend more time with her twinny grandchildren, bless!

There will be some new faces all around and a new Leadership. A tough challenge ahead, but be assured that any decisions taken will be for the good of all, not just a few!