Anti-Social Behaviour

What is anti-social behaviour?

The term anti-social behaviour covers a wide range of unacceptable activity that can blight the quality of individual and community life. Terms such as ‘nuisance', ‘disorder' and ‘harassment' are also often used to describe this type of behaviour.

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defines anti-social behaviour as being when a person has acted in an anti-social manner, that is to say, in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as themselves.

Examples could include: 

• Nuisance, rowdy or inconsiderate neighbours
• Vandalism, graffiti and fly-posting
• The buying or selling of drugs in public
• Street drinking
• Environmental damage including littering, dumping of rubbish and abandonment of cars
• Prostitution related activity
• Begging and vagrancy
• Fireworks misuse
• Inconsiderate or inappropriate use of vehicles

Why is tackling ASB important?

ASB directly and adversely affects communities and community perceptions of ASB and local disorder directly affects public confidence.