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Personal Anti-Social Behaviour

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What is Personal Anti-Social Behaviour?

Personal Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) is “when a person targets a specific individual or group.” (Metropolitan Police)

This can be closely linked to neighbour disputes and also to Hate Crime.

Personal ASB is ASB that is deliberately targeted at an individual or group, or which has an impact on an individual or group rather than the community at large.

It includes incidents that cause concern, stress, disquiet and/or irritation through to incidents which have a serious adverse impact on people’s quality of life. This can include minor annoyances or result in a risk of harm. It may include other forms of ASB as well as violence and damage to personal belongings. It may in some instances include falsely reporting fire etc. so that the emergency services arrive at an address – resulting in that resource not being available if there is a real fire and causing additional stress for those living or working in the premises.

The impact of Personal ASB on the victim can be a deterioration of health and disruption of mental or emotional well-being, resulting in an inability to carry out normal day to day activities through fear and intimidation. It can lead to increased loneliness and isolation and leave people fearful to leave their home.

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See Anti-Social Behaviour and Disorder for a full list of relevant legislation. Specifically:

This Act set in place the six remedies currently available to manage ASB, which are: civil injunctions; criminal behaviour orders; community protection notices; public spaces protection orders; closure orders; dispersal powers. It also introduced the community trigger and community remedy.

  • Civil injunctions

Courts award injunctions to stop people engaging in ASB. They can be awarded without notice but are only available if there has been a threat or use of violence.

  • Criminal behaviour orders

Criminal court issued against a person who has been convicted of an offence and is causing ASB.

  • Dispersal powers

Allow the police to order a person who is causing harassment, alarm or distress to leave a specific area for up to 48 hours.

In addition, there may be relevant Hate Crime legislation.

  • Resolve

Resolve website – includes information on their BTEC programmes and a range of other resources

  • ASB Help

Community Trigger podcast

  • Police Service NI

Anti-Social Behaviour (YouTube)

Useful Links

ASB Help – information for victims and practitioners

Visit the Website

Victim Support – information and support for victims

Visit the Website

Crimestoppers – information on what ASB is and how to report it

Visit the Website

Resolve – information and advice for practitioners

Visit the Website

Help and Support

For victims, families and concerned people

ASB Help provide information and advice to those impacted by anti-social behaviour in Wales and England. They also have information on who to report to, such as Local Authorities, Police and Housing Associations.

Community Trigger (also known as ASB case review) is available through Local Authorities (see Directory), or via the four police force websites (Dyfed Powys, Gwent, North Wales, South Wales)  If there have been three or more times within six months that you or others have reported incidents then you can use the Trigger for a review to be carried out so that agencies deal with persistent ASB. For more information see the ASB Help website.

If you experience ASB, you may have to help provide evidence before action can be taken. Ask who you are reporting to what information/ evidence they will need. Increasingly some are utilising Apps. You may have to call the police on 101 or even 999 if it’s an emergency.