Anti social behaviour - explained

This page defines what anti social behaviour is and provides information and advice on how to report and record anti social behaviour.

The law

The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) defines anti social behaviour as:

Acting in a manner that caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the perpetrator's.

These have been defined by the Home Office under the following headings:

Environmental

1. Graffiti
2. Fly tipping
3. Vandalism

Disregard for community and and personal well being

1. Noisy motor vehicles
2. Loud music
3. Alarms (persistent ringing)
4. Noise from pubs and clubs
5. Noise from business and industry
6. Misuse of air guns

Acts directed at people

1. Verbal abuse
2. Bullying
3. Making threats
4. Sending nasty or obscene letters and emails

The above behaviour are sometimes committed on the grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, religion, disability and age, this is often referred to as hate crime.

Misuse of public space

1. Drug dealing, or discarding drug paraphernalia
2. Street drinking
3. Begging
4. Joy riding
5. Abandoned vehicles
6. Disregard for community and personal wellbeing
7. Fighting
8. Drunken behaviour
9. Excessive noise
10. Inappropriate use of fireworks
11. Dog fouling
12. Shouting and swearing

This is by no means a definitive list, but an illustration of the types of behaviour the Home office defines as being anti social.

How to report anti social behaviour

If you wish to report non urgent anti social behaviour, you can email the Council's ASB officer at Oadby and Wigston Borough Council using the contact details to the left of this page. Leicestershire Police can also be contacted: non urgent Leicester (0116) 222 2222, or in an emergency please dial 999. The Council and the Police work closely together to ensure that ASB incidents within the borough are effectively and professionally dealt with.

For cases of ongoing anti social behaviour, you may be asked to complete an incident diary.

Anti Social Behaviour Diary Sheets (PDF Document, 637.32 Kb)