Suffolk police supporting ASB Week

Suffolk police, along with other agencies, is supporting a national week of action to continue efforts to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour.

National ASB Awareness Week, running from Monday 18 November to Sunday 25 November, will see a multi-agency effort to continue to make a collective effort to crack down on the issue.

The force will be using dedicated resources in the Community Partnership and Prevention Hub (CPPH) to support police officers in local teams with up to date and relevant crime prevention advice and signpost to current resources linked to the national campaign.

This includes the use of ASB case reviews where repeat victims of antisocial behaviour can to ask for a review of the actions partner agencies have taken to resolve their concerns. To be eligible, you need to have experienced and reported:

• three incidents of ASB in the last six months to the council, police or landlord where no effective action has been taken
• one hate crime or incident where no effective action has been taken
• A person of appropriate seniority within a responsible authority reviews the evidence presented from all parties and believes there is sufficient evidence to initiate a case review regardless of the role of the applicant of the ASB case review. 

Also, as part of the week, the force is also planning ‘street meets’ with local officers and in some cases, partner agencies. For times and date of meetings where you live please visit the local police social media account for your area. Officers will also be conducting leaflet drops on the topic, while our school liaison officers will be in schools to discuss the issue with pupils and students to emphasise the importance of being respectful and remind them what constitutes ASB. 

Supt Janine Wratten, the force lead for tackling ASB, said: "We are acutely aware that ASB can affect you, your family and the community at large and can take many forms, from low level, persistent noise nuisance to serious public disturbance. It can include a wide spectrum of issues such as motoring offences, graffiti, fly tipping, street drinking, noise disturbance and nuisance neighbours. 

"Incidents of ASB maybe best resolved through a multi-agency response as many organisations can play a key role in tackling it and providing a suitable resolution. Each scenario needs to have a tailored response which can lead to a variety of outcomes, which can include Community Protection Notices and Criminal Behaviour Orders that can be imposed on perpetrators. 

"Residents should rest assured that, where necessary, we will take action when we need to as we do understand the dramatic and detrimental impact ASB has.”

As part of the week of activity, visual social media content will be published on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, using short-form content as well as geographical targeting and paid advertising to challenge perceptions of anti-social behaviour, encourage behaviour change, and promote a safer Suffolk.

Supt Matt Carney said: “We’ve chosen these social media platforms as this is where our target audience of 13 to 35 year olds are primarily based. We are also targeting certain ‘hotspot’ areas and demographics to ensure our targeted audiences will see our content and reflect carefully on the message conveyed.

“This social media activity will continue past the dedicated week of activity as ASB is of course something we need to continue to address as an all year issue. Remember, as the content says, it might seem like a bit of fun or no big deal, but the way you behave can have a lasting effect on people, including you so think before you act.”

Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore said: "Anti-social behaviour can have a devastating impact on individuals, neighbourhoods and the wider community and it needs to be addressed as swiftly as possible to avoid issues escalating. 

"Dealing with ASB is not just a policing responsibility, it needs a multi-agency approach tailored to meet the individual needs of the victims, so I am reassured that the constabulary is working closely with local authorities and community safety partners to protect our communities from this unacceptable behaviour.

“I fully support the national ASB Awareness Week to highlight the issue and would encourage people to attend one of the street meets to find out more about what’s being done to combat the issue in your area.”

Watch out on the police social media accounts for what is taking place in your area – all activity can be found via #MakingCommunitiesSafer

If ASB is affecting you or your household, we will listen to you and treat the matter seriously. Some situations will require the involvement of other partner agencies in a bid to permanently address the problem. 

To report ASB you can use the online reporting tool Report antisocial behaviour | Suffolk Constabulary

The complaint is then flagged to the appropriate local policing team and assigned to an officer to progress and liaise with our partners. The police are obliged to report back what action we have taken as would be the case for all crime reports.

If you are a social housing tenant, you can report ASB to your housing officer, and remember, in an emergency always call the police on 999.

Find out what antisocial behaviour (ASB) is and what you can do about it. Antisocial behaviour | Suffolk Constabulary

What is antisocial behaviour? | Suffolk Constabulary

ASB is any behaviour that is capable of causing nuisance and annoyance; is likely to harassment, alarm or distress; creates significant and persistent problems in a neighbourhood and leaves communities intimidated.

Examples of such behaviour would include noise, harassment, criminal damage, graffiti and fly tipping, nuisance neighbours, street drinking, intimidation and hate behaviour that targets members of their identified groups because of their perceived differences.    

The CPPH is a hub that co-ordinates the work between police and partners across Suffolk with the goal of a consistent delivery of frontline policing across the county. Among its responsibilities is anti-social behaviour, hate crime, and issues with children and young people, along with neighbourhood policing.