Luton Borough Council

How we tackle anti-social behaviour

The Priority Anti Social Behaviour team is a victim focused team, which consists of officers from Luton council, Bedfordshire Police and other agencies.

When a report of Anti Social Behaviour is made, we assess the seriousness and the vulnerabilities of the victim by asking a series of questions and completing a form. This is then reviewed and may be allocated to a dedicated case manager within the team.

There maybe occasions when the case is referred to a relevant department or other organisation instead to investigate. Such as the Local Policing Team for the area in which you live in.

Other Examples of this could be:

certain neighbour disputes where a referral to Luton mediation approach is the best course of action
a Civil dispute over a boundary issue that would need to be dealt with by seeking your own personal legal representation
a domestic noise issue which would be investigated by the Environmental Health Team

If your case is allocated to the Priority Anti Social Behaviour team you will be allocated a case manager who will liaise with you to ensure you are updated through the investigation process, explain clearly the options open to you and how we will work with you to reduce/ stop the Anti Social Behaviour you have reported.

The Priority Anti Social Behaviour team work with a number of agencies to ensure that the relevant support is put in place for you and other members of your household. In order for formal action to be taken the team require evidence and that can be in a number of forms such as witness statements, CCTV or part of an ongoing criminal investigation. Some form of enforcement action can take a number of months to get the desired result and we aim to manage the expectations of the victim. It may be that a home visit is all that is required to resolve an issue or it may be more complex and a Civil tool or power may be more appropriate.

We work with housing associations, private landlords, social care, mental health, highways, adult social care and a range of different agencies to help resolve Anti Social Behaviour across Luton. Enforcement action is not always appropriate to resolve cases and we ensure we look at all viable alternatives before we consider a pathway that can be timely and stressful for the victim. There may also be a lack of evidence to proceed which would be clearly explained throughout the case investigation process.

If you are experiencing Anti Social Behaviour please contact either Bedfordshire Police on 101 or Luton council on 01582546000