Reporting anti-social behaviour
What is anti-social behaviour (ASB)?
There is no simple definition for anti-social behaviour, people's understanding is often based on their own personal perceptions and experiences but is often split into two different types, environmental and personal.
Anti-social behaviour is further defined within The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) as 'Conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, alarm, harassment or distress to any person OR is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person's occupation of residential premises.’
What do I do if I’m experiencing anti-social behaviour?
In the first instance, if you're experiencing anti-social behaviour, you could try and talk to the person causing the problem. They may not realise they're being anti-social - only do this if you feel safe and comfortable.
If you do not feel comfortable or safe in approaching the person behaving anti-socially and you live in a social housing property, then you must report this to your landlord.
If you do not feel comfortable or safe in approaching the person behaving anti-socially and you live in a private property or wish to complain about a public space issue, then you should report these behaviours to the Solace team. Solace is a partnership between the council, Gloucester City Council (GCC) and Gloucestershire Constabulary. The multi-agency team of officers work together with victims and communities to prevent, investigate, and tackle anti-social behaviour (ASB) assessed as to medium to high risk.
The primary aim of Solace is to reduce repeat incidents and victims of ASB by providing a consistent partnership approach between the Constabulary and local authority, alongside support agencies and other partners.
To contact Solace, please email the team at [email protected] with a full description of the behaviours you’re experiencing and your preferred contact methods.
What happens next?
Your report will be allocated to a member of the Solace team within 1-3 working days, we may contact you for further information for your case to be risk assessed. If your report is deemed to be moderate to high risk and requires our intervention, we will contact you for further information and to advise how we plan to act.
If your report is assessed to be lower risk, it may be passed to another team within the council or your local PCSO within Gloucestershire Constabulary for investigation, you will be advised of this.
All information provided to us will be kept in the strictest confidence.
You should contact the Police if on 999 if:
- a serious offence is in progress or has just been committed
- someone is in immediate danger or harm
- property is in danger of being damaged
- a serious disruption to the public is likely
What do I do if my complaint has not been resolved?
Under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, victims of ASB have the right to request a Community Trigger, also known as an ASB case review where the local threshold has been met and the case has not been adequately resolved. This process is to eliminate repeat victims and to bring all responsible agencies such as the council, Police, housing providers and others together to achieve a sustainable solution.
The community trigger process now sits within the Office of Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.
If you wish to report environmental crime such as littering, fly tipping, graffiti or other street based nuisances, please find more information on our public and environmental health page.
For problems relating to discarded drug paraphernalia or human waste, you should contact the customer services team on 01242 262626 who will advise on the removal of such waste.
Rough sleeping
Rough sleeping itself is not an illegal activity and we will not take any enforcement measures against individuals having or choosing to do so. If you notice that someone is rough sleeping, you can submit a report via StreetLink. Once reported, outreach support workers will look to locate the individual and start the engagement process. We work closely with partners to support vulnerable individuals and offer them assistance. More information can be found on our housing options and homelessness page.