Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour: Turning the page on ASB, holding perpetrators to account, and improving support for victims

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Date of Event: Tuesday, April 29th 2025

Time of Event: 9:30 AM — 1:00 PM GMT

Place of Event: Webinar

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) continues to blight countless lives across the UK. In the year to September 2023, around one million ASB incidents were reported to the police in England and Wales. According to the Crime Survey of England and Wales, 36% of people experienced or witnessed ASB in the year ending June 2024, slightly higher than the 34% who witnessed ASB in the year ending June 2023. 25% of people perceived ASB to be a fairly or very big problem in their local area in the year ending June 2024, whilst 8% of people perceived their local area to have a high level of ASB.

The UK government has committed to cracking down on ASB. In its general election manifesto, Labour pledged tointroducing new Respect Orders, providing the police with powers to ban persistent adult offenders from town centres, in order to stamp out issues such as public drinking and drug, and force fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess they have created. Under plans announced in November 2024, people who persistently demonstrate ASB will face up to two years in jail under the new orders. Labour will also introduce new protections for victims of crime and persistent ASB, increasing the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner, and ensuring victims can access the information and support they need, setting out its plans for this in January 2025.

Responding to the government’s publication of its plans to improve support for victims, Harvinder Saimbhi, CEO of ASB Help, stated: “The most fundamental tool victims have is the ASB case review and this report clearly highlights that victims are unaware of their rights or how to access the case review. We need to ensure that partners tackling ASB across England and Wales are appropriately trained to use the tools and powers available within the ASB Crime and Policing Act, and to tackle ASB effectively, bringing respite to those experiencing ASB.” In a report published in October 2024, the Inspector of Constabulary, Lee Freeman, asserted that the police “must and can do better” in cracking down on ASB and called for a “renewed focus” on staffing neighbourhood police teams. The report argued that most police forces in England and Wales need to improve the way they identify, record and respond to ASB, as well as how they protected victims.

This symposium will provide an invaluable opportunity for stakeholders – including police, local authorities, charities, housing providers, schools, and community groups – to assess the drivers of ASB, to examine the government’s efforts to tackle ASB and support victims, and develop new initiatives to make significant inroads into a societal problem that blights too many lives.

Programme

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