Anit-Social Behaviouris defined in law as “behaviour by a person which causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to persons not of the same household as the person.” Incidents can appear small, unimportant, insignificant and leave people doubting themselves. Not all Anti-Social Behaviour is a crime, it can get progressively worse, last for a long time, and be very serious. The impact of ASB can include raised anxiety, fear, and leave individuals, families or people in communities feeling unsafe and unable to either leave their homes or access certain facilities or areas of their local communities.

Winner: Bridgend Community Safety Partnership which supports communities in Bridgend County Borough to be safe and cohesive.

They were nominated for a specific piece of partnership working. For many years a car park had been the subject of a lot of anti-social behaviour complaints, predominantly for vehicle ASB and youth annoyance being attracted to the predominantly sheltered space. A range of visual improvements were made to the location and a substantial street art project to make the area more vibrant, visually attractive and promote feelings of safety. The combination of these efforts has seen changes in use to the space which now hosts youth activities and family-friendly fitness workshops, benefitting physical and mental health and making the most of this improved, vibrant space. Most importantly, reports of ASB have significantly decreased.

Highly Commended: South Wales Police, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and Merthyr Valley Homes Registered Social Landlord.

The purpose of the Partnership intervention was to close an identified premises quickly which was being used to commit nuisance / disorder and criminality. To safeguard the community from further harm and to also safeguard the tenants of the address itself. Through the process a Partial Closure Order for a period of 3 months was obtained which prevents visitors attending the address, there have been no reports of nuisance, disorder, anti-social behaviour at the property or visitors attending.  This was achieved without making anyone homeless.