Published: Wednesday 3 August 2022
Our antisocial behaviour (ASB) team have been busy gaining important court rulings to help us tackle noise nuisance, drug dealing, and criminal damage on our estates, during 2022’s national ASB awareness week in July.
Developed by Resolve, the UK’s leading ASB and community safety organisation, the awareness week encourages communities to take a stand against ASB and highlight the action that can be taken to tackle it.
In the space of a just a week, the team were successful in getting possession back of two properties where ASB was occurring and residents needed safeguarding, winning an injunction application and a full closure order, and assisting the police in an investigation which led to an arrest.
In cases of ASB, often the first step is an injunction application. Injunctions can be used to prohibit a specific person from:
• continuing to carry out specified anti-social acts;
• entering defined locations, in order to protect the public in those areas;
• being in the company of certain individuals in public.
If the Council decides to apply to the courts for an injunction, we must provide a sufficient level of proof that a named individual has caused either housing related nuisance or annoyance or persistent harassment, alarm or distress. We assess each case according to the level of evidence and take into account all other factors, and ways of remedying the situation, before applying to court.
If injunctions are breached, then there can be further penalties imposed by the court which can be as serious as fines and even prison sentences.
The most recent injunction application by the Council was won after an all-day trial at the Royal Courts of Justice and will be used to prevent noise nuisance. The resident involved had also been violent towards two other vulnerable residents in the block and therefore the judge granted the application with an additional power of arrest should the individual make any further threats or conduct any further acts of violence.
In a separate case, another resident who was committing noise nuisance had breached their injunction numerous times so the Council requested a full closure order which was granted at Westminster Magistrates Court. This will prevent the resident from accessing their property for three months whilst we work to gain full possession of the property.
Tackling ASB effectively involves close partnership working with our colleagues in the police. An example of this is a case we are supporting the police with on the Worlds End Estate, where a known individual is instigating ASB and committing criminal damage. Due to our ASB Team giving statements, sourcing CCTV footage and providing associated costs of the damage, the individual responsible has now been arrested.
If ASB is affecting you, your family, or someone you know, you can expect the Council and the police to treat the problem seriously, take action, and then report back to you on what they have done. To report ASB, please use our online reporting form.
If you are reporting an urgent issue that needs our immediate attention or you need assistance completing the form, please contact us via our Customer Service Centre on 0800 137 111 or 020 3617 7080.
For residents living on the Lancaster West Estate, Bramley House, or Treadgold House, please email [email protected] or report anti-social behaviour on the WeAreW11 website.
In an emergency always call 999.