Community Safety Team

What the team do

Working in joint partnership with the Safer Neighbourhoods Team at Stevenage Police Station, our Community Safety Officers carry out investigations in the following areas: 

• Anti-social behaviour *
• Environmental Crime
• Drug misuse/dealing
• Physical Violence
• Crime
• Verbal harassment, intimidation and threatening behaviour
• Vandalism
• Misuse of communal areas
• Dog fouling, pets and animal nuisance
• Fly-tipping and fly-posting **
• Abandoned Vehicles and vehicle nuisance
• Illegal Encampments

* Anti-social behaviour is defined as 'behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to persons not of the same household as the person' 

** Did you know that leaving items outside of the bins at a Recycling Centre/Bring Bank Scheme is deemed as fly-tipping?

Our team

Within the Community Safety Team, we have 3 Community Safety Officers who tackle anti-social behaviour and Environmental Crime.

Since April 2020, we have had 796 cases referred to our team; this includes all anti-social behaviour cases and Environmental Enforcement cases.

Referring to our services

If a tenant is reporting anti-social behaviour or being reported for causing anti-social behaviour, this is sent to the Resident and Estates Service team in the first instance. Two weeks’ worth of logs are then needed before they can complete the referral to our team where an officer will be in contact with the complainant.

Leaseholders also have to follow this process with the Leasehold team.

We do accept self-referrals from private residents who are complaining about other private residents.

Recent successes and outcomes

This year, we have been successful in getting an injunction banning a high risk individual from returning to their property. The individual was making threats to other residents.

Working in partnership with Stevenage Police, we have been successful in securing two Closure Orders in the past year due to reports of drug dealing.

Recent customer feedback on the service

We have received some pleasing feedback from customers:

"The team are brilliant. They never made me feel stupid and were so supportive and helpful".

"The team helped me more than the Police. If it wasn't for the team, I wouldn't be in the positive situation I am now".

"If it wasn't for the team, people wouldn't have known I wasn't the offender".

"Everything was explained and I can't fault anything they did".

"They are all really kind and even when I was really upset, they still made a point of explaining what could be done".