Most criminal behaviour can be deemed as anti-social. However, non-criminal anti-social behaviour can have long-term negative effects on individuals and communities, which often link into criminal behaviour.
Report anti-social behaviour
If you have witnessed anti-social behaviour and it is an emergency please call
999.
If you have witnessed anti-social behaviour and it is not an emergency, you can do one of the following:
What does anti-social behaviour include?
Anti-social behaviour may include the following:
- Use of foul and abusive language
- Excessive residential noise
- Street drinking
- Rowdy behaviour
- Improper use of vehicles
- Inappropriate use of space for leisure and play
- Threatening and intimidating behaviour
- Graffiti
- Littering
- Fly-tipping
- Allowing dog fouling
- Harassment
What can you do about anti-social behaviour?
If you have witnessed anti-social behaviour, you can do the following:
- Speak to those responsible for the nuisance if you feel calm and confident to do so
- Keep a record of all acts of anti-social behaviour, including times, dates, who is committing it if known and details of the activity
District and borough councils
District and borough councils will deal with:
- excessive noise, including noisy neighbours (where you live in local authority or rented accommodation)
- litter and rubbish
- uncontrolled pets
If you would like to report any of the above, you can do this by contacting your local district or borough council.
A number of changes were made in October 2014 around the powers and tools available for professionals to tackle anti-social behaviour under the new Anti-social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act (2014).