What to do if you witness anti-social behaviour
Information for tenants who witness instances of anti-social behaviour, what you should do and what the Council will do. Download incident logs to record incidents here.
The Council’s Housing Service provides support and assistance to tenants who witness instances of harassment, anti-social behaviour, noise and nuisances.
The Council can take action on a wide range of behaviours which cause disruption, distress or harm to tenants. These include:
- Violence or threats of violence
- Abusive or insulting words or behaviour, including racist abuse
- Property damage or the threat of damage, such as vandalism or graffiti
- Excessive noise such as loud music or shouting
- Illegal activities such as drug use or prostitution
- Inconsiderate behaviour such as fly-tipping or dogs fouling
Tenants are not only responsible for their own behaviour but also that of their visitors, children and pets.
What should you do?
For serious incidents, such as those involving violence, threats of violence, abuse or illegal activities you should contact the Police. Make sure you get a crime log number.
For minor incidents you may wish to consider first talking to the person causing the nuisance. They may not be aware they are causing a problem.
If the situation cannot be resolved by talking to the person responsible you should contact the Council’s Customer Service Centre on 01438 242242 with details of your complaint.
In certain cases you may be required to fill in an Incident Log to record an accurate record of events. You can download an Incident Log here:
Incident guidance notes and log sheet
Return completed incident logs to the case officer indicated on the log sheet. If there is not one indicated you should return your completed log to the Customer Service Centre.
What will the Council do?
The Council will endeavour to resolve the problem by speaking to or visiting the perpetrator.
Where necessary, the Council will liase with other authorities, such as the Police.
If appropriate, the Council may issue you with an Incident Log for you to maintain an accurate record of events. Alternatively, you can download an Incident Log above.
Although the Council will always endeavour to resolve problems through mediation, if the problem continues and there is sufficient evidence the Council may take action against the perpetrator under housing legislation.