Newark and Sherwood District Council support ASB Awareness Week 2023

Running from Monday 3 July to Sunday 9 July, Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness Week 2023 aims to encourage communities to take a stand against ASB and highlight the actions that can be taken by those experiencing it. 

Councillor Paul Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner, Safer, Greener at Newark and Sherwood District Council explains more about the Council’s support for ASB week: “We know that tackling ASB is a priority for our residents, and we will not stand by and tolerate the selfish acts of anti-social behaviour that impact our community.  

“We all deserve to live in a district where we feel safe and secure, and we are committed to ensuring we do all we can to achieve that.”

“Raising awareness of what anti-social behaviour is and how to report it is vital and, in supporting ASB awareness week, we hope we can do just that. Victims and witnesses of ASB must report these issues so that the offenders can rightfully be punished.”

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is behaviour which causes nuisance, harassment, alarm or distress. It can affect anyone at any time and is often deeply threatening to our sense of safety. ASB can include:

• graffiti
• litter
• verbal abuse
• noise nuisance
• rowdy or intimidating groups
• untidy properties and gardens
• drug dealing
• drinking alcohol in the street
• begging
• irresponsible dog ownership

Councillor Taylor continues, “It’s easy to report ASB so please remember to always report incidents whether you are the victim or a witness. If you are reporting urgent cases, call the Police on 999 or non-urgent cases to 101. You can also report ASB issues via the District Council website and also anonymously to Crimestoppers on www.crimestoppers-uk.org. I would like to encourage everyone to always report incidents of ASB directly via official channels only as I am aware that, on occasions, complaints have been made on social media which are not always logged as official reports and therefore cannot be investigated.”

The District Council is urging members of the public not to suffer in silence if they experience ASB. In addition to reporting to the incident/s, you can also speak to the District Council’s ASB team, in confidence, about any issues or concerns you may have. You can find out more and register an ASB complaint at https://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/asb/ 

Councillor Taylor concludes, “We want those in our communities to know that we are committed and focussed on reducing ASB in Newark and Sherwood and already have a number of initiatives in place to further this work.  While Newark and Sherwood has lower levels of ASB than comparable districts, there are some areas where ASB figures are not dropping so we still need to do more.

“In July, a report will be going to the District Council’s Cabinet meeting asking for more resources and manpower for tackling ASB issues and in the same month, we are sitting down with key partners, including the Police and Crime Commissioner, to work out what else we can do. We will continue to work closely with our partners to reduce anti-social behaviour in the district, and we won’t just stop there. We are committed to tackling ASB and creating a district in which we can all feel safe.”

Initiatives already being delivered by Newark and Sherwood District Council in tackling ASB include:

• The Safer Streets Project: Currently over £1 million has been invested in Newark and Sherwood through the project, an initiative which funds security measures such as gating, lighting and CCTV cameras that help deter ASB.
• In recurring or more serious cases we serve injunctions and criminal behaviour orders in order to protect our communities.
• Over the summer months we have also begun to work with partners on safety sessions with young people to educate on the dangers of ASB and unsafe behaviour around water and fire. Similar work also includes safety consultation events with residents, nights of action in hotspot areas, as well as other safety events and school talks to educate young children via early intervention methods.
• We have also recently strengthened the visibility of our Community Protection Officers (CPOs) who patrol our district daily.

Organised by Resolve, the UK’s leading ASB and community safety organisation, ASB week features a series of events all across the UK involving Councils, Police Forces, Housing Associations, charities, community groups and sports clubs. 

Recent YouGov research commissioned by Resolve found that almost 1 in 5 people have had to consider moving home because of the impact ASB was having on them; 1 in 10 have actually moved. Despite this, over half of those surveyed who were either a victim or witness of ASB did not report the ASB.

Rebecca Bryant OBE, Chief Executive of Resolve added: “ASB is not low-level. It can have a devastating and long-lasting impact on the lives of victims and communities and can be a precursor to more serious crime.

“It is important that the challenge of ASB continues to be given the priority it needs so that people everywhere feel safe in their homes and communities.

“We are delighted that Newark and Sherwood District Council is supporting this hugely important campaign. It is vital to develop partnership approaches across communities to deal with the growing challenges around ASB.

For more information about ASB Awareness Week – visit www.resolveuk.org.uk  

ENDS 

 

Notes to editors

• About the survey
  You can find last year’s report here: https://www.resolveuk.org.uk/images/YouGov_Report.pdf
• About ASB Awareness Week 2023
  ASB Awareness Week will run between 3 - 9 July 2023

The full results of our new survey, which took place in May 2023, will be published in the coming weeks.

The week of action will bring together people and organisations from across the country to take a stand and work together to make communities safer.

Organised by Resolve, ASB Awareness Week is being backed by the Home Office, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Local Government Association, National Police Chiefs’ Council and the National Fire Chiefs’ Council.

• About RESOLVE
  Resolve is a centre of excellence solely focused upon community safety and anti-social behaviour (ASB). We strongly advocate that community safety issues and ASB can be tackled effectively, and everyone has a right to feel safe. ASB should be treated as a priority, it is not low level and is a precursor to serious crime.

It is our mission to professionalise the sector by helping organisations to effectively deal with community safety and ASB issues through training, support, guidance and sharing best practice.

Tackling ASB and community safety is core business for all of our members, including social housing providers who collectively manage more than 3 million homes throughout the UK. Other members include Local Authorities, who make up 25% of our membership, housing law solicitors, mediation services and the Police.

For more information visit www.resolveuk.org.uk