Equality objective: anti-social behaviour

Business Plan/Service Plan priority 

Combat crime and the fear of crime – anti-social behaviour (ASB). 

Rationale

This is a clear ‘doorstep’ priority – it impacts on the quality of life for many of our citizens and has a disproportionate effect on those who are vulnerable.  There are clear indicators that those committing offences, often at a young age, are themselves in danger of falling into a cycle of behaviour that results in poor life experiences. This is the area of work where WLBC leads on behalf of the Community Safety Partnership.

Equality objective 

To support the work of the Local Priorities Group in addressing the causes and effects of ASB by:

  • understanding who is most vulnerable to becoming a victim of ASB and developing strategies with them to remove or limit this risk
  • understanding who is least likely to report ASB or seek help and take action to improve their confidence and address their concerns
  • building on the ASBRAC framework, which identifies at risk young people, with a programme of targeted interventions that reflect their specific needs
  • supporting the Working Together with Families programme, in particular reducing the impact of ASB offending behaviour on wider family outcomes  

Equality information

Background
Extensive and detailed analysis already takes place, of incident and of need, at an individual level which of course cannot be published. There is an opportunity to build on this to identify trends and patterns which should influence the planning of preventative interventions – this already takes place geographically in West Lancashire and can be extended to identify the personal characteristics of those most at risk.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) inspection data for 20121 show Lancashire Constabulary (LC) as the top performing force across England in respect of ASB, including their use of on-going assessment of risk.  This provides an excellent platform to build on in providing a robust picture for West Lancashire which can include:

  • LC analysis within STORM and HARMAN (age, disability and ‘social functioning impairment')
  • ASBRAC analysis
  • MASH information sharing
  • YOT data and learning from Prevent and Deter
  • QL IT system (housing tenants)
  • Soft intelligence from Beatsweep and Brightsparx
  • Soft intelligence from outreach work such as at the Beechwood Centre and within schools

Data
A recent report to HMIC from the Universities Police Science Institute2 identifies these national trends in victimisation:

  • repeat victims of ASB are more likely to be men
  • 22% of women did not report ASB due to fear of intimidation 
  • 40% of reporters of ASB can be classed as vulnerable due to a long-term illness or disability and these are more likely to be women
  • women are more likely to experience personally-targeted ASB
  • 10% of ASB is viewed to be motivated by prejudice on the grounds of race, religion, disability, gender or sexuality
  • 10% of victims feel that ASB has a ‘total effect’ on their everyday life and more women than men were in this category; these are more likely to report feeling disengaged from their community
  • women are more likely to be the victim of more complex ASB, as are the youngest and oldest age groups
  • repeat callers who are not vulnerable are more likely to be under 55 and peaks in the age range 25-34
  • more than 25% of victims are over the age of 65
  • callers in the youngest age group are most likely to experience personally or deliberated targeted
  •  only 64% of callers to Lancashire Constabulary agreed with how their ASB complaint had been classified

 The latest data available on Anti-Social Behaviour Orders placed in Lancashire3 shows that:

  • 86% of orders were placed on male offenders
  • 36% of orders were placed on the 15-17 age range compared to 25% across England and Wales
  • 44% of orders were placed on children, with 70% of adult orders placed on those over the age of 21
  • Only 1 order was placed on a female child

 References

1. Personal, Situational and Incidental Vulnerabilities to ASB Harm, UPSI, January 2013 p60
2. Personal, Situational and Incidental Vulnerabilities to ASB Harm, UPSI, January 2013
3. Lancs CC ASB statistics (external link) accessed 2 June 2013