Anti-social behaviour
... (SIPs) and successor arrangements through the integration of SIPs into CPPs. Integrated community schools Neighbourhood management structures Neighbourhood compacts (linked to community warden schemes. Neighbourhood Watch schemes. Equal opportunities 25. Section 140 of the 2004 Act provides that any person discharging a function by virtue of the Act shall do so in a manner that encourages equal opportunities and in particular the observance of equal opportunity requirements, as defined in the Scotland Act. 26. "Equal opportunities" means the prevention, elimination or regulation of discrimination between persons on grounds of sex or marital status, on racial grounds, or on grounds of disability, age, sexual orientation, language or social origin, or of other personal attributes, including beliefs or opinions, such as religious beliefs or political opinions. 27. "Equal opportunity requirements" means the requirements of the law for the time being relating to equal opportunities. It is important that local authorities and their partners not only commit to the principles of equal opportunities but can demonstrate how they will take this forward through the strategy, including issues particularly affecting black and ethnic minority groups. WHO SHOULD PREPARE STRATEGIES? 28. The 2004 Act requires each local authority and relevant chief constable, acting jointly, to prepare, publish, review and revise strategies to tackle antisocial behaviour in the authority’s area. The Act defines "relevant chief constable" as being "the chief constable for the police area which forms all or part of the area of the local authority". 29. In addition to requiring local authorities and the chief constable to consult Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) on strategies, the Act gives Scottish Ministers the power to make regulations to require particular RSLs to participate in the preparation, review and revision of strategies under Section 1 of the Act. This power has been adopted because of the very varied nature of RSLs, some of which are very large, having received local authority stock, while others, for example in rural areas, may be managing relatively few properties. We would expect those RSLs that are the main or a major housing provider in the local authority area to be more closely involved in all aspects of the strategy than smaller ones. Community Safety Partnerships and other Community Planning structures 30. Although the legal responsibility for strategies rests with the local authority and chief constable, in practice strategies will be prepared using Community Planning processes and structures. 31. It is for Community Planning Partnerships to determine the most appropriate Community Planning structures, at strategic, operational and geographic levels, that will most effectively provide a coordinated and coherent approach to the preparation, delivery and review of antisocial behaviour strategies. In most local authority areas the appropriate structure will be the Community Safety Partnership, most of which already have tackling antisocial behaviour as one of their priorities. In some local authority areas it may be necessary to consider widening the remit and/or activities of Community Safety Partnerships to ensure that the CSP is able effectively to act as the point for preparing the strategy and overseeing its delivery. 32. "Safer Communities in Scotland" (Scottish Executive, July 1999 www.scotland.gov.uk/library2/doc01/scis-00.htm) provides comprehensive guidance to assist Community Safety Partnerships to create the framework necessary to undertake community safety audits, develop strategies and action plans. The guidance recommends that, as a minimum, partnerships should involve, at a senior level, the local authority, police, health board and/or trust and the fire service. It also stresses that partnerships should consider the role of the private and voluntary sectors, RSLs and racial equality councils, either as members of the core partnership groups, or by being involved in specific working groups. 33. "Threads of Success’ (www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/society/tosm-00.asp), a study of 5 community safety Pathfinder Councils, recommended that Community Safety Partnerships should operate at three levels - a strategic senior partners group to commit their organisations, direct, agree and review action; an operational group to manage tasks and implement; and task groups to deliver on key priorities. 34. In view of their statutory responsibilities, Community Safety Partnerships will want Authority Reporters involved at the strategic level. Consideration should also be given to involving the Area Procurator Fiscal. At the operational level, local Procurators Fiscal, Children’s Reporters, and key voluntary groups, for example victims’ organisations, will also have a role to play. Since all key players in the justice system have an interest in the way that antisocial behaviour is tackled, local authorities and chief constables will also want to consider how they might involve organisations, such as Sheriffs and/or their staff in these discussions. 35. The Executive is currently undertaking a review of support for CSPs which will be published soon. Proactive Antisocial Behaviour Units 36. The Partnership Agreement commits the Executive to encouraging local authorities to set up proactive antisocial behaviour units. A number of local authorities have already established such units, operating at local authority wide and/or neighbourhood levels. They have proved successful in bringing relevant local authority departments together (eg Housing, Education, Children’s Services, Social Work, Environmental Services, Legal Services, Leisure Services) with other agencies, such as the police, RSLs, and relevant voluntary/community organisations (eg those providing services such as victim support and mediation) to tackle antisocial behaviour. These units need to work closely with Youth Justice Action Teams and Drug Action Teams to ensure a coherent and coordinated response. 37. In smaller local authorities it may not be necessary, nor cost-effective, to establish a dedicated antisocial behaviour unit as such, but there should, as a matter of good practice, be one person - at senior level within the authority- who has strategic responsibility for ensuring a coherent approach to tackling antisocial behaviour across all relevant local authority departments, and who would coordinate the strategy preparation and delivery process. WHO SHOULD BE CONSULTED? 38. The 2004 Act requires consultation on the preparation, review and revision of the strategy with the following: the Principal Reporter; registered social landlords (RSLs) which provide or manage property in the authority’s area; community bodies and other persons that the local authority considers appropriate. In considering who to consult, the local authority should seek to include those who are representatives of people adversely affected by antisocial behaviour. Principal Reporter 39. The Principal Reporter is the chief officer of SCRA which is a national body delivering its services in all of Scotland’s local authority areas. The basic role of SCRA is to act as the gatekeeper for the Children’s Hearings system. Children’s Reporters are professionals trained to investigate the circumstances in a child’s life and to decide if compulsory measures of supervision may be required. 40. However, Ministers have also recently asked SCRA to take on a wider role: to lead and drive improved outcomes within the system; to identify areas of concern; to act to understand the root causes; and, in partnership with others, how those causes might be eliminated. 41. Although the Act provides formally that the Principal Reporter must be consulted on the preparation, review and revision of strategies, in practice this will be the Authority Reporter from SCRA. This will ensure that local authorities are provided with informed comment from an officer who can represent the views of partners in the Children’s Hearing System locally and nationally. In consulting with SCRA, local authorities should allow sufficient time for this process to take place to ensure a quality response can be prepared. Registered Social Landlords 42. There are various reasons why RSLs must be consulted on the development, review and revision of strategies. RSLs own and manage 238,000 homes across Scotland, a figure which is likely to grow still further. Tackling antisocial behaviour is an integral part of providing an efficient and effective housing management service; hence RSLs having the right to apply for ASBOs and interim ASBOs, including those for under 16s. Many RSLs also play a wider role in supporting the communities in which they operate. RSLs are regulated by Communities Scotland and are expected to work in partnership with other agencies to manage antisocial behaviour. 43. At the local/neighbourhood level, consultation between local authorities and RSLs is important so that they can identify their relevant services and agree common/shared approaches to be established to resolve problems within local areas, irrespective of ownership/landlord/tenure. 44. Local authorities are encouraged to develop protocols with RSLs, to cover respective roles in and circumstances under which each would tackle antisocial behaviour, including ASBOs. Protocols could also cover the circumstances in which the local authority would/would not charge for services, for example investigation teams. 45. In consulting RSLs, local authorities should allow sufficient time to allow RSLs to consult their tenants. This is not to suggest that local authorities should not consult their own tenants: rather, that RSLs and their tenants should not be excluded from the consultation process on antisocial behaviour strategies. Community bodies 46. "Community bodies" are defined as having the meaning given in the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. This defines them as "bodies or other groups, whether or not formally constituted, established for purposes which consist of or include that of promoting or improving the interests of any communities (howsoever described) resident or otherwise present in the area of the local authority". Victims of antisocial behaviour 47. In considering who to consult, the 2004 Act requires local authorities to seek to include those who are representative of people adversely affected by antisocial behaviour, irrespective of housing tenures. The people most adversely affected by antisocial behaviour will differ from place to place and decisions on who to consult need to be taken locally. However, research evidence shows that certain groups of people are likely to be worst affected by antisocial behaviour, including: the poorest individuals and families who are least able to move away or bear the cost of antisocial behaviour; children and young people, who can be an easy target for negative peer group pressure, or who are vulnerable because they are outside traditional support structures such as school or work; those who are already discriminated against because of their race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, who may have fewer support networks or be less willing to ask local organisations or the police for help; other vulnerable people, eg older people, women and disabled people, including children/adults with mental health or learning difficulties, who are some of the people most affected by the fear of crime. Consultation structures and processes 48. It is recognised that, because of their social exclusion and vulnerability, the views of the above groups can be difficult to gather. In many areas, Community Planning structures and processes already exist that will help to ensure effective consultation with community bodies including groups representing those outlined in paragraph 47 above. But in other areas there may be a need to build on these structures or establish new ones so that the perspectives and experience of anti-social behaviour of particularly vulnerable people are heard and their proposals for solutions fed in. 49. In relation to young people, there are various sources of useful information on effective methods of consultation and engagement. For example, Dialogue Youth, whose website contains sections on consulting young people in community planning [www.dialogueyouth.org]. In addition, Save the Children’s Fund’s toolkit on participation of 9-15 year olds could be used to consult children and young people on antisocial behaviour strategies [http://www.savethechildrenscot.org.uk/pages/communities/pdfs/reaction-toolkit.pdf%20. Finally, Children in Scotland’s website has useful information, including practical guides on how to consult children and young people with disabilities: http://www,childreninscotland.orgk.uk/html/par_res.htm. 50. In consulting young people, the views of particularly vulnerable and excluded young people should be included, eg looked after children, those excluded from school and other groups likely to be affected by antisocial behaviour. 51. Community Planning guidance requires equalities objectives to be mainstreamed into Community Planning processes. More detailed guidance on how to mainstream equalities has been prepared by the Scottish Equalities Coordinating Group http://www.cosla.gov.uk/attachments/publications/bvequalitiesguidance.pdf. Advice on consultation with equalities groups can also be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/gpgc-00.asp 52. In engaging with communities bodies, CPPs should have regard to the statutory guidance on Community Planning and also Community Planning advice note 5 ("Effective Community Engagement"). http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/localgov/cpan-06.asp . CPPs should also note that the Scottish Community Development Centre, on behalf of Communities Scotland and in dialogue with key stakeholders, is developing and testing a set of National Standards for Community Engagement. Draft standards have been prepared and are available on Communities Scotland’s website [http://www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=4747&sID=3352]. The standards are currently being pilot tested over the period to April 2005. Consulting other bodies 53. Although not a requirement of the Act, local authorities and their partners will want to consult with private sector housing interests - private landlords or owners’ associations - where they exist. The Scottish Executive already encourages local authorities to engage with private rented sector landlords on the development and delivery of policy to raise standards in the sector, in the context of the Private Sector Housing Grant and Local Housing Strategies. Against this broader background, local authorities will want to discuss with the sector how to encourage good practice in the management of antisocial behaviour, including the provision of advice and assistance and the use of antisocial behaviour notices under Part 7 of the Bill. They will also want to engage with the sector to ensure that registration is used as a positive step towards a healthier private rented sector in their area, alongside initiatives such as voluntary accreditation. 54. Local authorities and their partners will also want to consult relevant business organisations, particularly those in areas of significant antisocial behaviour, as often members of staff, for example in retail premises, can be victims and witnesses of antisocial behaviour. Appropriate organisations to consider include Chambers of Commerce, local traders’ associations and branches of the Federation of Small Businesses. Consulting at local area/neighbourhood level 55. In addition to consulting on the overall local authority-level antisocial behaviour strategy, the 2004 Act requires local authorities to set out in their strategies arrangements for consulting communities at the local area/neighbourhood level where antisocial behaviour is a problem or is likely to become one. 56. Antisocial behaviour can happen anywhere but in developing strategies local authorities, the police and other local partners will want to identify those areas where there is a history of antisocial behaviour or where it is particularly prevalent so that resources can be focused. In these areas, there need to be in place mechanisms which will allow local agencies to engage with local people, irrespective of housing tenure, on an ongoing basis, not just on what they would like to see in the local authority level strategy. 57. The Community Planning guidance makes clear that consultation should not be seen as a one-off activity related only to the identification of problems. Communities need to be involved in agreeing solutions and ways forward. The guidance also makes clear that consultation with communities is not the same as community engagement. Community engagement involves an ongoing process of dialogue and requires mutual trust, cooperation and the active participation of people. This is particularly important in relation to tackling antisocial behaviour, where community engagement at an early stage within a specific area can avoid more serious problems later on, and where patterns of antisocial behaviour and the concerns of communities can change over time. In consulting with local communities, local agencies will need to ensure there are mechanisms for ongoing dialogue with children and young people (and youth workers) and that discussions include the need for appropriate facilities and opportunities for them at community level, including those for legitimate recreation. WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD STRATEGIES CONTAIN? 58. The 2004 Act sets out various information that must be included in strategies. Strategies must: set out an assessment of the extent of occurrences of antisocial behaviour in the authority’s area; set out an assessment of the types of antisocial behaviour in the authority’s area; specify arrangements for consulting community bodies and others, (including young people) in areas where antisocial behaviour is a problem or becomes a problem about how it will be dealt with; specify the range and availability in the authority’s area of services for people generally but also for people under 16, victims and witnesses of antisocial behaviour and people involved in neighbourhood disputes; set out how the local authority and the chief constable will work jointly to deal with antisocial behaviour, how they will coordinate their functions and how they will exchange information relating to antisocial behaviour. 59. The following sections cover these provisions in more detail. Assessing extent and types of antisocial behaviour 60. Before developing a local plan of action and deciding on the level of resources needed to implement it, local authorities and their partners need to identify and understand the range and extent of antisocial behaviour, specific to their areas. This means gathering and analysing a range of information, with the involvement of local people, including: the types of antisocial behaviour taking place, how often, where, when and why. 61. Paragraphs 14 to 17 above discussed the definition of antisocial behaviour and the reasons why the Act employs a broad and flexible definition. What constitutes antisocial behaviour, and the priority attached to dealing with it, must be defined by local people supported by local authorities, the police and their partners. Annex A sets out a framework for defining antisocial behaviour, which local agencies may find useful in defining problems and agreeing priorities with local communities. The Annex is not intended to imply that these activities are the only activities that can be considered antisocial. It should be treated as a guide. 62. One of the current difficulties in mapping the extent and type of antisocial behaviour is the lack of a standardised system for recording reported incidents, both within and across local authority areas. Local authorities and relevant chief constables are therefore encouraged to standardise the recording of reported incidents within the local authority area. This will enable uniform baseline data to be collected on the extent and type of antisocial behaviour, comparisons to be made between local/neighbourhood areas, and the assessment of trends over time. the profile of victims — age, gender, ethnicity, area where they live, patterns of repeat victimisation; the profile of offenders — age, gender, ethnicity, area where they live, persistent offending, risk factors associated with antisocial behaviour. (This should not be confined to offenders who have been apprehended. Methods such as local victims’ surveys and local neighbourhood surveys can help to understand who is engaging in antisocial behaviour, even though they may not have been charged with offences). the financial cost of antisocial behaviour problems - eg repair costs, loss of business, housing voids. contextual information — information on risk factors. 63. It is recognised that for some local authorities and their partners gathering this type of data will be new and challenging, within the timescales for the first strategy. If this is the case, strategies will be expected to set out clearly how local partners will put in place systems that will enable this information to be recorded and assimilated for further strategies. 64. There are a range of factors that can lead to antisocial behaviour, with the misuse of drugs and alcohol a significant contributory factor. Local authorities and their partners will need to consider how best to structure arrangements at the local level so that action to tackle antisocial behaviour and alcohol and drug problems can be joined up effectively. 65. Strategies will capture information about the extent and type of antisocial behaviour in the local authority area at a particular time. But it is important that this information is regularly updated, in order to drive ongoing operational activity and to avoid the possibility of stigmatising groups and/or areas over time. This will be particularly important at the local/neighbourhood level. Ministers will issue guidance on the frequency of reviewing local authority-area strategies (see paragraph 87 below). In relation to local areas/neighbourhoods, decisions on the frequency of review will need to be determined by agencies in consultation with local people and will depend on the nature of problems at this level. 66. One of the Crime Reduction Toolkits produced by the Home Office covers antisocial behaviour. This includes a range of practical advice on how to assess the extent and type of antisocial behaviour. http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/toolkits/as00.htm. Specifying arrangements for community consultations in areas of high antisocial behaviour 67. As explained in paragraph 58 above, the 2004 Act requires strategies to specify arrangements for consulting community bodies and other persons (including in particular young people) in each part of the authority’s area in which there are (or are likely to be) occurrences of antisocial behaviour, about how to deal with antisocial behaviour there. This is in addition to consultations on the overall strategy. The local authority and its partners, in consultation with local people, need to decide the local areas/neighbourhoods that will be chosen for concentrated action and support, and the criteria for selecting these. 68. Arrangements need to be in place that will allow this engagement to take place on an ongoing basis, for example through community planning structures, community councils, tenants and residents associations, youth groups. Experience shows that interaction between the local authority, the police and other local agencies and communities, using a problem solving approach, can help to identify problems early on and diffuse growing tensions. This is important, not only to nip problems in the bud, but means that agencies will be in a better position to determine when enforcement measures, such as ASBOs or dispersal provisions are appropriate. Assessing range and availability of services 69. Having assessed the extent and type of antisocial behaviour in the authority’s area, the 2004 Act requires the strategy to set out the range and availability of services which are designed to deal with it, both its consequences and prevention, for the following groups: people generally people under 16 victims of antisocial behaviour people who witness occurrences of antisocial behaviour people requiring mediation for neighbourhood disputes 70. In assessing services local authorities and their partners will need to ensure a balanced package of measures, including prevention, remedial action and ultimately enforcement. Assessment should not be confined to those services provided by the local authority and the police but should include the range of partners at the local level, including voluntary organisations. Local authorities and their partners should also ensure that relevant indivi...