Anti-social behaviour
Anti Social Behaviour comes in many different forms, and means different things to different people. It ranges from serious acts of harassment, to more "everyday" incidents like noisy neighbours and youth nuisance. Whatever the problem Liverpool City Council and Housing Associations take all complaints seriously and will take whatever action they can do to stop it...
Liverpool has an Anti-Social Behaviour Unit (LASBU) within the Community Safety Service and this unit works with key agencies to reduce anti-social and disorder.
Our performance, commitment and standards can be viewed in our Customer Charter![(PDF [274.6Kb] opens in new window)](/images/PDF.gif)
How to report anti-social behaviour
What is anti-social behaviour ?
Though there are many different forms of Anti-Social Behaviour, the definition given in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, states that,
"a person has acted 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 himself."
Anti-social behaviour manifests itself in hundreds of ways and locations, but the effects of each incident are immediate, real and personal. They can also be long lasting causing distress to individuals and sometimes scarring communities for years afterwards.
Section 30 Dispersal Orders
Dispersal Orders, or Section 30's as they are commonly known, defer legislative powers pursuant to the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003; Section 30.
The provision authorises:
"A police officer in uniform with the power to disperse a group of 2 or more persons, or require those persons that do not reside within the locality from returning to the location within a 24 hour period, or face arrest."
There must be evidence that 'significant and persistent anti-social behaviour' has occurred in the prescribed locality, which has caused intimidation, harassment or alarm to member of the public by the presence or behaviour of groups of persons on the locality.
The area bounded by the Order is designated under it, is usually geographically small and names all the locations it covers.
The Orders are for a specified period, no longer than six months before consideration of renewal can be made - most are much shorter 2-3 months only.
The Orders must be signed by a police officer of at least the rank of Superintendent and supported and signed by a senior officer in the City Council.
How do we get one?
Currently before such an Order is supported there must be wide-spread community support for it, which is coupled with local councillors, action groups, community associations, amongst others, who also support it. Therefore it is not usually generated by the police, they merely carry out the will of the community.
Additionally there must be evidence that before such an Order is made that interventions, diversionary activities, such as youth outreach workers, local activities and youth clubs have been tried without or with limited success, and that the above ASB criteria still exists.
If you are considering such an intervention you should contact your local councillors and or Neighbourhood police teams who will advise you.
All the locations for such Orders are publicised locally and usually include the LYS web address for alternative activities.
Anti-social behaviour fires
Anti-social behaviour fires are a real problem and these incidents tie up both fire and police officers, leaving them unable to tackle other emergencies.
Most of these fires are rubbish fires that have been deliberately started and whilst they might be classed as 'minor', they can have a major impact on feelings of safety of local residents and are a drain on the Fire and Rescue Service resources.
To view further information on arson prevention visit the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service website. You are also able to report an arson problem online.
Noise
The Environmental Health Service has powers to deal with a wide variety of noise sources.
For further information visit the noise or noisy neighbours webpages.