Putting victims first: More effective responses to anti-social behaviour.

Source: (2012) London: The Stationery Office Limited.

The phrase ‘anti-social behaviour’ takes in a range of nuisances, disorder and crimes which affects people’s
lives on a daily basis: from vandalism and graffiti; to drunk or rowdy behaviour in public; to intimidation and
harassment. All have huge impacts on the lives of millions of people in this country. None are acceptable.
The Government is committed to stopping the pain, the fear, and the damage caused by anti-social behaviour.
The starting point must be the impact that behaviour is having on victims.
We know what victims of anti-social behaviour want to happen. First and foremost they want the behaviour to
stop, and the perpetrators to be punished for what they’ve done. They want the authorities to take their problem
seriously, to understand the impact on their lives and to protect them from further harm. They want the issue
dealt with swiftly and they want it to stop happening.
The mistake of the past was to think that the Government could meet these demands with a ‘one size fits all’
model. Anti-social behaviour is a local problem, that looks and feels different in every area and to every victim.
A single, central model is not appropriate for tackling this most local of problems, although a strong message
that it has to be taken seriously can come from the centre. Local agencies need to respond to the needs of
victims, to work with the communities they serve, and to have the freedom to do what they know will make a
difference. From November, directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners will play a key role.
The Government does have a vital role in supporting local agencies to meet this challenge and to ensure that
agencies and the public have all the information and power they need to stop anti-social behaviour once and for
all. (excerpt)