Anti-social behaviour (ASB) case review policy

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) continues to be a priority for residents, housing providers, local authority, Police, Solace, the Police and Crime Commissioner and all Community Safety partners in Gloucestershire.

ASB covers a wide range of incidents from litter and dog fouling to noise nuisance and targeted, abusive behaviour and cases often involve different types of ASB, reported to different organisations, which each have different legislative options available to them. The complex nature of ASB means that agencies must work together to bring perpetrators to justice and provide the right level of support for victims.

The ASB Case Review (Previously known as the Community Trigger) was introduced by The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act in 2014. The aim of this document is to translate the ‘Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act: Anti-Social behaviour powers – Statutory Guidance for frontline professionals’, issued by the Home Office in July 2014 (updated August 2019) into guidance to assist agencies to work together to tackle ASB in Gloucestershire and meet their statutory obligations under the legislation.

The guidance has been produced by the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner (OPCC) Gloucestershire, in consultation with, and on behalf of, the ASB Case Review ‘relevant bodies’ and wider anti-social behaviour partners in Gloucestershire and elsewhere.

We want to ensure a consistent approach for those affected by ASB, who wish to use the ASB Case Review to request a review of the action taken to deal with the ASB they are experiencing. The guidance outlines the process in terms of exactly how the ASB Case Review will be conducted and the minimum steps and timescales should be followed by all partners involved in the ASB Case Review Process.

This guidance will be reviewed annually by leads from all relevant agencies.

This guidance is intended to complement, not replace, individual agency complaints procedures. Complaints about individual officers, or services, should be directed to those complaints procedures and/or the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

In Gloucestershire, there are well-established structures and processes, which ensure strong partnership working in relation to the management of ASB.

Definitions – What is the ASB Case Review?

The ASB Case Review gives victims of persistent anti-social behaviour reported to any of the main responsible agencies (such as the Local Authority, police, housing provider) the right to request a multi-agency case review of their case where a local threshold is met.

The aim of the ASB Case Review is to encourage a joined up, problem solving and victim-centred approach to the resolution of the serious and persistent problems experienced by those directly affected by ASB. It enables agencies to review a case and to establish if there are any further actions that can be taken to bring a case to a satisfactory resolution.

What is Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)?

For the purpose of the ASB Case Review, ASB is defined in the legislation as ‘Behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress to a member, or members, of the public’.

Housing-related anti-social behaviour has a lower test of ‘Nuisance or annoyance’, the cumulative effect of such incidents may well amount to harassment, alarm or distress for the purposes of this process.

Which agencies are involved in the ASB Case Review Process?

The ‘relevant bodies’ are defined in legislation, as the Local Authority, Police, NHS Integrated Care Board and local providers of Social Housing. In addition the Youth Offending Service will be involved, where the case involves a perpetrator who is under 18 years of age.

Depending on the individual case, it may also be appropriate to involve other partners that have, or ought to have been involved in the case, e.g. SOLACE, Schools, Children’s Services, Adult Services, Mental Health Services, Probation Service, Fire and Rescue etc.

In Gloucestershire, the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner (OPCC) currently acts as the administrator for the ASB Case Review Process.

Who can use the ASB Case Review?

Subject to meeting the threshold, the ASB Case Review can be requested by anyone directly affected by ASB or another person acting on their behalf, with their consent, such as a family member, carer, MP, the Local Authority, police or housing provider.

Where it is apparent that safeguarding is required, an ASB Case Review can be raised with a senior officer’s authority and without consent.

What is the Threshold?

The criteria, or threshold, for submitting an ASB Case Review application is:-

• Three or more reported incidents of anti-social behaviour, including hate incidents, to relevant agencies
• The incidents occurred on separate occasions, within a six month period.
• The ASB is an ongoing issue

The purpose of the ASB Case Review is to consider how to deal with serious persistent, or targeted ASB that the relevant bodies have been unable to tackle successfully.

In deciding whether the threshold has been met for triggering a review, there must be a link between the reported incidents.
For the avoidance of doubt, if the partners receive separate reports about totally unconnected ASB, then they will NOT be counted together in deciding whether the threshold has been met. This will be the case even if the type of ASB is the same.

If a report about the same incident has been made to multiple agencies, it will only count as one incident.

An eligible ASB incident report, is one which is made within the period of one month, beginning with the date on which the behaviour is alleged to have occurred. Furthermore, the ASB incident report should have been made either in writing, by email, by telephone or visiting the offices of the relevant body.

How can an application for the ASB Case Review be made?

Those directly affected by ASB, their advocates or partner agencies, who wish to request a review of their case must complete the ASB Case Review Application Form, with full details of the incidents of ASB.

The ASB Case Review Application Form is available as an online form on the OPCC website.

A printable form can also be found on the OPCC website and should be posted to

ASB Case Review Coordinator, Office of the PCC for Gloucestershire, 1 Waterwells Drive, Waterwells, Quedgeley, Gloucestershire, GL2 2AN.

Alternatively please email [email protected] or call 01452 754601 for assistance (Available Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm).

Consent

When an application for the ASB Case Review is from a third party, it must be accompanied by evidence that the third party has authority to act on the applicant’s behalf. It is the third party’s responsibility to supply this.
Where the applicant is competent to give consent, this evidence must take the form of written consent from the applicant, authorising the third party to make the application on their behalf and to receive information about the applicant from the relevant bodies.

Where the applicant is not competent to give consent, other evidence must be supplied (e.g. Power of Attorney). The ASB Case Review process will not commence until this has been received by the ASB Case Review Coordinator at Gloucestershire OPCC.

If an applicant wishes to withdraw their consent for an Advocate to act, this must be submitted, in writing, to the ASB Case Review Coordinator at Gloucestershire OPCC. Upon receipt, the review process will stop.

Receipt of ASB Case Review Application

All application forms for the ASB Case Review must be submitted to the ‘ASB Case Review Coordinator’ at Gloucestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC).

The ASB Crime and Policing Act 2014 places a legal obligation on the ‘relevant bodies’ to undertake the ASB Case Review, once a ‘Completed application’ is received, which meets the local threshold.

A ‘Completed application’ includes all required information on the application form AND the applicant’s consent (or evidence of a third party’s authority to act where the application has been made by a third party).
The ‘applicant’ is the directly affected person, or their advocate who has submitted the application.

Within 5 working days, the ASB Case Review Coordinator should:

• Contact the applicant (letter or email) to acknowledge receipt of the ‘Completed application’
• Offer a referral to Gloucestershire Victim Support
• Create a case number and folder in the ASB Case Review register and save all communications to that folder
• Ensure victim’s consent has been received.

Within 15 working days, the ASB Case Review Coordinator should:

• Review the application on behalf of the relevant bodies
• Liaise with the appropriate agencies to establish whether the application meets the threshold and request a time line/summary of the organisations involvement and any actions taken to date.
• Ask the most appropriate ‘relevant body’ to establish the vulnerability of all those directly affected and those responsible for the ASB via a ‘Risk assessment’.
• Notify the applicant via email or letter of the decision as to whether the threshold has been met or providing a reason if it does not along with advice on how to appeal should the applicant choose to do so.

Threshold Not Met

If the threshold for the ASB Case Review has not been met, the ASB Case Review Coordinator should:

• Advise the applicant in writing
• Ensure all communications are saved onto the ‘ASB Case Review Register’.
• Establish if there are any further actions that can be taken to bring the case to a satisfactory conclusion.

If the ASB is on-going, it will be managed through existing multi-agency processes and procedures.

If the applicant is not satisfied with the decision that their application does not meet the threshold, they can follow the ASB Case Review APPEAL PROCESS.

Situations where there are repeated ASB Case Review applications which, on investigation, relate to non-ASB matters, may be an indicator of an underlying vulnerability, or unmet need. In these circumstances, the ASB Case Review Process is not appropriate, but partners should consider hidden needs, or risks, which may require a multi-agency response, for example through the Vulnerable Adult Risk Management process.

Vexatious Complaints

ASB Case Review applications will be rejected if they are thought to be prejudicial, discriminatory, malicious or vexatious. They will be dealt with in accordance with the organisations vexatious complaints policy.

Anonymous applications will not be accepted.

Threshold Met

If the threshold for the ASB Case Review has been met, the ASB Case Review Coordinator should:

• Contact the applicant in writing advising them of the time, date and location of the ASB Case Review Panel.
• Make personal contact with the applicant to explain the process, gather additional information and establish what the applicant wants from the review. This will enable the ASB Case Review Coordinator to understand, and manage their expectations.
• Give the applicant the option to attend the first 20 minutes of the panel, to help the agencies understand the impact of the ASB on their physical and emotional health, their quality of life, as well as that of members of their household and their visitors. Also to understand their expectations so that these can be fed into the hearing and the action plan. If the applicant, or their advocate, does not wish to attend the panel, they should be invited to submit a written victim impact statement to explain the impact of the ASB on their lives and what they expect from the ASB Case Review Panel.

For the ASB Case Review process to be effective, partners are required, under Schedule 4, Part 3 of the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014, to comply with ASB Case Review Coordinator’s request for information and share information, which will enable the relevant bodies to conduct the ASB Case Review process objectively. The exceptions to this are where disclosure:

• Contravenes Data Protection Legislation, as defined at Section 3 (9) of the Data Protection Act 2018
• Is prohibited by any of the Parts 1 to 7, or Chapter 1 of Part 9, of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

In most cases, partners involved in the review process will already be signed up to the Gloucestershire Information Sharing Partnership Agreement (GISPA), but for the purposes of the ASB Case Review, information sharing is also facilitated under the following legislation:

• Section 104 of the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014
• Schedule 2, Part 1, 5 (2) of the Data Protection Act 2018
• Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998

The relevant bodies may request any person to disclose information for the purpose of the case review. If the request is made to a person who exercises public functions and they possess the information, they must disclose it. The only exception to that is where to share the information,

Would be either:

• A disclosure of personal data in contravention of any of the provisions of the data protection legislation1 which are not exempt from those provisions, or
• A disclosure which is prohibited by any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

Other than these two exceptions, disclosing information for the ASB Case Review does not breach any obligation of confidence or any other restriction on the disclosure of information.

A nominated officer within each partner agency that has received and responded to the incidents reported by the applicant(s), will collate all relevant information that is to be shared at the ASB Case Review Panel.

Relevant information relating to the ASB Case Review should be shared before the panel hearing, between all ‘Relevant bodies’ and should include:

• Details of previous ASB incidents reported by the applicant(s)
• Risk assessments for those directly affected and those responsible
• Information about the effect the problem has had on the applicant and others in the community
• Details of action previously considered
• Details of action taken

This list is not exhaustive.

The ASB Case Review Panel Hearing should take place within 20 working days of the notification to the applicant that the ASB Case Review threshold was met and a meeting would be held.

The ASB Case Review Coordinator will:

• Arrange the meeting
• Identify and invite representatives from appropriate agencies
• Chair the meeting

Attendance

The ASB Case Review Panel must be attended by the ASB Case Review Coordinator and appropriate manager level representatives of the relevant bodies:

• Local Authority (District / City Council)
• Gloucestershire Constabulary
• Appropriate Healthcare Provider
• Social Housing Provider
• Youth Offending Service, where the review involves a perpetrator who is under 18

Depending on the individual case, it may also be appropriate to invite other partners that have, or ought to have, been involved in the case from a victim and perpetrator perspective, Eg schools, Children’s Services, Adult Services, Mental Health Services, Probation Service, Fire and Rescue.

It is especially important for health partnerships to attend the panel where there are vulnerabilities relating to any of the parties involved.

Attendees should be able to make operational decisions on behalf of their organisation and commit to actions and resources.

The ASB Case Review Coordinator from Gloucestershire OPCC will chair the meeting and will:

• Ensure the best interests of the applicant(s), (and the other party in the case of a neighbour dispute) are fairly represented and considered, and solutions identified to stop/ reduce/ manage the ASB
• Will expect attendees to have read the ‘Pre read’
• Ensure a minute taker is present to write the minutes and the action plan which will be circulated and approved by the panel upon completion
• Will listen to everyone and take everyone’s views into consideration
• Ensure partner representatives have no conflict of interest
• Address any arising conflict during the panel
• Have the final decision on the content of the Action Plan
• Identify learning opportunities for partners

Purpose

The aim of the ASB Case Review Panel is to actively problem solve the case. The meeting should:

• Consider the persistence of and cumulative impact of the ASB
• Consider the harm caused, or the potential for harm to be caused, to those directly and indirectly affected by the ASB (Eg the community impact)
• Consider, and look to establish, who is the victim and who is the perpetrator (for example in neighbour disputes). In some cases this may be complex and unclear
• Consider whether the complaints are malicious or vexatious
• Consider whether there are other vulnerabilities or needs contributing to the impact of the reported ASB behaviours, where additional support may be of benefit to address the applicants needs
• Consider whether any additional information needs to be obtained
• Review what action has been taken and whether it was adequate to stop, or reduce the ASB
• Where appropriate, formulate additional actions to resolve the problem
• Identify the lead officer(s) to implement the resulting Action Plan, if appropriate.

Outcome of the ASB Case Review Panel

Minutes of the ASB Case Review panel will be circulated to all relevant bodies involved to be agreed by all parties.

The draft action plan containing the proposed actions to resolve the ASB will also be circulated and agreed by relevant parties. Once updated the Action plan will be reviewed at any future Tasking / ASB Meetings, to ensure actions are completed within agreed timescales.

Once agreed, the records will be retained by Gloucestershire OPCC.

Where there are lessons to be learnt, the records may be forwarded to our risk management team and/or to the community safety partnership of the area involved.

Within 5 working days of the ASB Case Review Panel, the ASB Case Review Coordinator should:

• Inform the applicant of the outcome either via telephone or face to face.
• Discuss the action plan with the applicant. The applicant may not agree the Action Plan, if so this should be recorded. The applicant may not agree to all the actions, if so this should be recorded.
• Send letter / email confirming outcome and Action Plan to applicant. If the ASB Case Review takes more than one panel to resolve, the action plan will be shared as soon as it has been formulated.
• Advise them that the meeting resets the ‘qualifying period’ in terms of calculating ‘qualifying reports’, should the applicant activate the ASB Case Review for the same matter in the future. If an applicant has agreed to the Action Plan, any subsequent ASB Case Review application for the same matter will not be reviewed unless all actions and agreements from the original ASB Case Review have been followed up. If any of these actions are the responsibility of the relevant bodies who attended the panel, the ASB Case Review Coordinator will liaise with those parties to encourage completion of any agreed actions (public bodies have a duty to have regard to those recommendations and they may be challenged if they choose not to undertake them, without good reason)
• If the applicant is unhappy as a result of the ASB Case Review, they should consider and follow the ASB Case Review Appeal Process.
• Hand over responsibility of the Action Plan to an appropriate Coordinator Officer
• Copy all correspondence to the ASB Case Review folder
• Will monitor the action plan and escalate if actions are not adhered to
• Will close the ASB Case Review, sending the applicant a closure letter including details of their right to appeal.

Recommendations

The ASB Case Review Panel will not be able to recommend the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) take action, nor will it prompt a review of decisions previously made by the CPS. If the victim is not happy with a decision made by the CPS, they should be referred to the CPS complaints procedure and the Victim’s Right to Review Scheme.

The ASB Case Review Panel does not seek to lay blame for any potential failings, as this would be the subject of a formal complaint investigation, but there may be organisational and procedural lessons learnt as a result of a review. These will be shared with Partners across Gloucestershire at the next ASB Partnership meeting chaired by the OPCC. The victim will also be kept informed to demonstrate that lessons have been learnt and amendments made to delivery to ensure mistakes are not repeated.

Who can make an appeal?

Anyone who has previously submitted an ASB Case Review Application can make an appeal. The appeal body is the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire.

An appeal can be lodged if the applicant deems:

• The threshold was not met
• Some evidence has not been considered
• Policies and Procedures have not been carried out correctly

An appeal must be lodged with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire, within 28 days of the date the applicant received the action plan and closure letter.

This must be made in writing, either email or letter to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner at:-

ASB Case Review Appeal
Office of the PCC for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Constabulary Headquarters,
Waterwells Business Park,
Quedgeley,
Gloucester
GL2 2AN
Email: [email protected]

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will acknowledge receipt of an ASB Case Review Appeal within 5 working days. They will also request information about the case from the ASB Case Review Coordinator.

The ASB Case Review Coordinator must provide copies of the following information as a minimum:

• The ASB Case Review Application Form
• The ASB Case Review Meeting Minutes
• Letter sent to the applicant confirming the Action Plan

The Officer of the Police and Crime Commissioner will assess the appeal, based on the documents collected, and notify the appellant and relevant bodies, of the appeal decision within 20 working days of the appeal being lodged. The decision made by the OPCC is final.

The ASB case review coordinator should record the outcome of the Appeal in the relevant ASB Case Review folder.

The organisational and procedural lessons learnt as a result of an appeal will be shared with partners across Gloucestershire at the next ASB Partnership meeting.

Roles within the process

The roles and responsibilities of the individuals /agencies within this process are summarised below:

Applicant

• Complete the ASB Case Review Application Form providing full details of the ASB incidents.
• Submit the application form to the area ASB Case Review Coordinator via OPCC website.
• Give written consent for an advocate to act, if applicable.
• Attend the first 20 minutes of the ASB Case Review Panel, or ask for an advocate to attend in their place.
• Submit a written statement, if not attending the ASB Case Review Panel in person.
• Consider recommendations and agree the Action Plan with the ASB Case Review Coordinator following the ASB Case Review Panel.
• If dissatisfied with the outcome of the ASB Case Review, lodge an appeal with the OPCC.

Advocate/supporter (if applying on behalf of the applicant)

• Obtain the applicant’s written consent (or evidence of their authority to act Eg Power of Attorney)
• Complete the ASB Case Review Application Form on behalf of the applicant.
• Submit the application form and applicant’s written consent (or evidence of their authority to act) to the area ASB Case Review Coordinator.
• Attend the first 20 minutes of the ASB Case Review Panel on behalf of the applicant or accompany the victim, if they wish to attend themselves (if appropriate)
• If dissatisfied with the outcome of the ASB Case Review, lodge an appeal with the OPCC, together with the applicant’s consent.

ASB Case Review Coordinator & Chair of Meeting

• Be a specific point of contact for applicants, and their advocates, (and any other affected party in the case of neighbour disputes, ensuring neutrality) in relation to the ASB Case Review
• Make the ASB Case Review Application Form easily available to the Public
• Receive ASB Case Review applications
• Where appropriate, request advocate obtains applicant’s consent ( or supply evidence of their authority to act) for third party applications
• Confirm receipt of completed applications
• Offer a referral to Gloucestershire Victim Support
• Liaise with relevant bodies to establish whether the threshold has been met
• Establish the vulnerability of all those affected and responsible for the ASB
• Notify applicant whether the threshold has been met or not
• Arrange the ASB Case Review Panel, inviting representatives from all appropriate agencies.
• Invite the applicant, or their advocate, to attend the ASB Case Review Panel (or provide a written statement if they do not wish to attend in person)
• Attend and chair the ASB Case Review Panel
• Adhere to confidentiality statement and Information Sharing Agreement
• Ensure all agencies sign a confidentiality statement
• Ensure all participants have no conflict of interest
• Ensure the best interests of the applicant(s) (and other affected parties in the case of neighbour disputes) are considered and solutions are identified to stop / reduce/ manage the ASB
• Resolve any disagreements between partner agencies
• Have the final decision on the content of the Action Plan
• Identify learning opportunities for Partners
• Record and circulate minutes of ASB Case Review Panel
• Advise applicant of outcome of ASB Case Review Panel
• Discuss the recommendations of ASB Case Review Panel and agree the Action Plan with the applicant
• Update the ASB Case Review folder throughout the process
• Provide the OPCC with information, if required for any appeal process
• Share the lessons learned from each ASB Case Review Application and appeal at the next Gloucestershire ASB Partnership Meeting
• Maintain a record of ASB Case Review Applications

Relevant Bodies

• Complete the ASB Case Review Application Form on the applicant’s behalf, if it is considered an ASB Case Review Panel is required
• Provide ASB Case Review Coordinator with information to establish whether the threshold has been met and what actions have been proposed and carried out
• Collate information to share with partners at the ASB Case Review Panel
• Appropriate level of officer to attend ASB Case Review Panel ( or submit a written report to the ASB Case Review Coordinator, if unable to provide an agency representative)
• Adhere to confidentiality statement and Information Sharing Agreement
• Implement Action Plan, as agreed with applicant
• Provide the OPCC with information, if required for any Appeal Process

Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner – Appeals

• Manage the ASB Case Review appeal process
• Receive written appeals
• Where appropriate, request applicant consent for third party appeals
• Confirm receipt of appeals
• Liaise with ASB Case Review Coordinator to obtain the required information to consider the appeal
• Assess the appeal
• Advise appellant, ASB Case Review Coordinator and relevant bodies, of the outcome of a ASB Case Review Appeal
• Publish the annual ASB Case Review Monitoring Information for Gloucestershire
• Include information about ASB Case Review Appeals in the annual report to the Local Criminal Justice Boar