Eight police force areas will now change the way in which they respond to calls, using a new system to log complaints and improving the use of IT to share information.
Differing approaches to recording complaints of anti-social behaviour and identifying repeat victims have seen too many people slip through the net.
It’s hoped that this new approach will help to quickly identify and protect vulnerable victims.
Home Office minister James Brokenshire said: “Anti-social behaviour ruins lives, damages our communities and, at its worst, can have tragic consequences. It’s essential those who raise the alarm and ask for help are listened to and their complaints acted upon promptly.”
The minister added: “It’s not acceptable that those most in need either slip through the net or are plain ignored. The technology exists to allow agencies to introduce a smart way of handling such complaints and a simple way of sharing information – they need to use it.”
The trials will be conducted in Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, London, South Wales, Sussex and West Mercia, and run from January through to July 2011.
Five key principles involved
New approaches will be tailored to each area and based on five key principles:
Baroness Newlove, the coalition Government’s champion for active safer communities, said: “Protecting those who are most vulnerable in our neighbourhoods is essential. After all, we all know who the troublemakers are who live down our street.”
The Baroness continued: “The frustration has been that in some cases it has appeared that nobody has been able to stop them, with tragic results. These changes to the way police handle such complaints will help make our communities safer and more confident places where decent, law-abiding people feel they are being listened to and supported. This is the new way forward. Action, not words.”
At the end of the trial period the Home Office will assess each area’s approach and will publish details about what methods worked best across the piece.
ACPO comment on anti-social behaviour pilots
ACPO’s lead on anti-social behaviour, assistant chief constable Simon Edens, commented: “The police service recognises that all individuals and communities have a right to live their lives free from intimidation, harassment and any other disorder that may damage their quality of life. One of the core purposes of policing is to keep people safe, and this includes dealing effectively with anti-social behaviour.”
Edens continued: “ACPO has been working with our partners to ensure that there is greater consistency in our approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour. The pilot in eight force areas will now focus on improving handling and logging of complaints, as well as looking at improvements to IT systems to ensure information from partners is shared more easily.”
He added: “This is particularly important to ensure that those at the greatest risk of harm are quickly identified and an effective response is provided. The results of the pilot will help us shape a more consistent approach to dealing with the policing response to local concerns.”
As far as Eden’s concerned, anti-social behaviour is not something that the police can tackle in isolation.
“We need to ensure that we are working with all local agencies and sharing information where necessary,” he urged, “and are fully in support of all approaches to encourage greater personal and community involvement in neighbourhoods.”
