To introduce an Environmental Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour enforcement policy to address low-level environmental crime and ASB offences that can be dealt with by Officers across all designated service areas within the Council. 

To provide a cost-effective and timely enforcement service that reduces the burden on the Courts and reduces the time between the offence and the penalty. 

Section 218A of the Housing Act 1996, as introduced by Part 2 (s)12 of the AntiSocial Behaviour Act 2003 requires social housing providers to prepare a policy and procedure on anti-social behaviour and publish a summary of them. 

 In addition to this, the housing regulator outlines specific requirements relating to ASB in the Neighbourhood and Community Standard: 

• Registered providers shall publish a policy on how they work with relevant partners to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) in areas where they own properties.
• In their work to prevent and address ASB, registered providers shall demonstrate:
  1. That tenants are made aware of their responsibilities and rights in relation to antisocial behaviour.
  2. Strong leadership, commitment and accountability on preventing and tackling ASB that reflects a shared understanding of responsibilities with other local agencies.
  3. A strong focus exists on preventative measures tailored towards the needs of tenants and their families.
  4. Prompt, appropriate and decisive action is taken to deal with ASB before it escalates, which focuses on resolving the problem having regard to the full range of tools and legal powers available.
  5. All tenants and residents can easily report ASB, are kept informed about the status of their case where responsibility rests with the organisation and are appropriately signposted where it does not.
  6. Provision of support to victims and witnesses. 

North Tyneside Council has developed this policy following reference to the AntiSocial Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 which defines anti-social behaviour (ASB) as: 

1. Conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person,
2. Conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises, or
3. Conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person. 

Managing Risk 

To ensure North Tyneside Council delivers a tailored ASB service specific to victim’s needs, a risk assessment will be offered and completed based on individual and personal circumstances. 

North Tyneside Council may share information with relevant parties and speak to external agencies about the assessment outcomes. North Tyneside Council will instigate appropriate referrals where necessary. This will be done in line with our data sharing protocol and where possible agreed with the victim first. 

The assessment will take into consideration the impact of the anti-social behaviour on all household members including children.