Anti-social behaviour case review process
Safer Maidstone Partnership anti-social behaviour (ASB) case review process
1.1 - The ASB Case Review, formerly known as a "Community Trigger", was introduced under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. This legislation sets out the requirement for relevant bodies in a local authority area to decide and carry out anti-social behaviour (ASB) or hate crime/incidents case reviews where appropriate.
1.2 - The ASB Case Review allows for a review of an ASB or hate incident/hate crime case where the locally defined threshold is met. The primary aim of the review is not to find fault with an agency's response but instead to bring together relevant agencies to take a joined-up, problem-solving approach to find a solution for the victim or complainant.
General principles
2.1 - As outlined above, the aim of the ASB Case Review is not to find fault but rather find solutions by taking a joined-up approach, identifying what other action, if any, could be taken to find a solution for the victim or complainant.
2.2 - Where a request for a review does not meet the threshold for a case review, the reviewing officer may still make recommendations regarding what action may be taken in the future and communicate that with the victim.
2.3 - The Maidstone Borough Council Community Protection Team co-ordinates and administers the ASB Case Review process, set out in appendix 1, however, the relevant bodies and responsible authorities retain joint responsibility in cooperating fully in its implementation.
2.4 - The ASB Case Review process adheres to the Statutory Guidance for Frontline Professionals relating to the ASB, Crime & Policing Act 2014: ASB Powers (Home Office).
2.5 - The ASB Case Review is not an alternative method of complaining about the past service a person has received. It focuses on the existing situation and what more can be done, enabling agencies to reconsider their actions quickly and objectively. If a complainant is not satisfied with the past service they have received, they should pursue the matter through the individual agency's complaints' procedure.
Information sharing
4.1 - For the ASB Case Review process to be effective, information must be shared across relevant bodies and responsible authorities.
4.2 - The Safer Maidstone Partnership has an Information Sharing Agreement of which relevant bodies and responsible authorities are signatories.
Definition of ASB and hate crime/hate incident
5.1 - For the purposes of this procedure, ASB is defined as:
- Conduct that has caused, or likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person.
- Conduct capable of causing nuisance, or annoyance to person relation to that person's occupation of, residential premises.
5.2 - For the purposes of this policy hate crime/hate incidents are defined as:
- An act or acts of hostility or violence that is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by, hostility prejudice based on their race and ethnicity, religion sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.
ASB case review threshold
6.1 - The ASB Case Review allows a complainant to have their case reviewed, subject to meeting the locally agreed threshold. In Maidstone, for a case review to be held under the ASB Case Review, the following qualifying criteria must be met:
- An individual has reported three separate incidents relating to the same problem in the past six months to the council, police or their landlord (and no action has been taken);
or
- An individual has reported one incident or crime motivated by hate, as defined in 5.2, in the last six months (and no action has been taken);
or
- At least five people have made reports about the same problem in the past six months to the council, police or their landlord (and no action has been taken).
6.2 - For the purpose of the ASB Case Review, “no action taken” means that the council, police or the landlord have not responded to the complainant’s reports, have not visited the complainant or the perpetrator, or have not taken any other action that would be considered reasonable and proportionate to address the problem. If the complainant is dissatisfied with the action taken by any of the agencies involved, or believes that the action was insufficient or inappropriate, then this is a service failure and should be referred to the relevant agency’s complaint policy.
6.3 - A report made to several agencies at or around the same time, or about the same incident, will only count as one incident.
6.4 - To qualify for a review under the ASB Case Review the ASB/hate crime/hate incident must be reported within one month of the alleged behaviour taking place.
6.5 - As outlined in the Statutory Guidance, the review will also consider the harm being caused to the victim/complainant. When deciding if the threshold has been met the following may also be considered:
- The persistence of the ASB/hate crime/hate incident about which the original complaint was made;
- The harm caused or the potential harm to be caused by that behaviour;
- The adequacy of the response to that behaviour
Using the ASB case review
7.1 - The ASB Case Review can be used by:
- A victim can be an individual, person or community group.
- A victim of any age who believes they have experienced ASB and are not satisfied with the response they have received from relevant agencies.
- A person acting on behalf of a victim, for example, a family member, friend, carer, councillor, MP or other professional person, providing they have the victim's consent. Verification of the victim's consent will be sought.
Suitability
8.1 - The ASB Case Review is not suitable for the following:
- A person who has not yet reported ASB/hate crime/hate incident. If this occurs, then the person will be given information about the appropriate agency to contact.
- A person who wishes for a review of a Crown Prosecution Service decision in relation to the prosecution or non-prosecution of a criminal offence.
- In some cases, incidents currently subject to a criminal investigation maybe unsuitable for consideration under the ASB Case Review; this is to avoid prejudicing a potential criminal prosecution.
- A matter that has been decided by a civil court and a party to the case wishes to appeal that decision.
- Where the ASB is ongoing, a review is unlikely to be appropriate. New incidents of ASB cannot be added to the existing review. These should be reported to the appropriate authority as per their normal reporting process.
- If the person has made a formal complaint to the relevant agency about the service, they have received in relation to their ASB/hate crime/hate incident case and it is still being investigated. In this situation, the person will be informed that the ASB Case Review will be put on hold until the investigation into their complaint has been concluded.
- Where the person has highlighted or is identified as being vulnerable, their situation will be raised to the Community Safety Vulnerability Group
Raise an ASB case review
9.1 - An ASB case review request can be made by completing this form.
Publicising the ASB case review
10.1 - Information on the ASB case review is available on our webpage.