South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership reaffirms commitment to Community Trigger

Working with ASB Help, a national charity who provide advice and support to victims of anti-social behaviour (ASB), councils, police and registered social housing providers in Lincolnshire have overhauled their Community Trigger policy with the aim of providing an improved service to victims experiencing persistent ASB. 

The Community Trigger protects victims of persistent ASB, providing them the right to request a formal review of their case.

If the local threshold is met, an ASB case review is carried out, bringing together councils, police and registered social housing providers to take a collaborative, problem solving approach to find a solution to the ongoing ASB. Additional agencies may also be involved such as mental health or drug and alcohol services. Case review panels will be chaired by an independent representative, with no prior involvement in the case, ensuring impartiality throughout.

Any victim of ASB can utilise the Community Trigger, or if they wish to, victims can get another person to act on their behalf, such as carer, family member or local councillor. Victims can be individuals, businesses or community groups.

Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader of the Boston Borough Council, said: "We are proud to be working alongside other Lincolnshire councils and Lincolnshire Police to be providing this service to people around Lincolnshire. Anti-social behaviour has a devasting effect on its victims, so through the Community Trigger, we can help victims who feel their case needs to be reviewed."

Councillor Graham Marsh, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Leisure and Culture, and Carbon Reduction at East Lindsey District Council, said: "Anti-social behaviour can have a long-lasting effect on victims, whether it be residents or businesses, therefore the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership hopes that reaffirming its position with the county-wide community trigger encourages victims of recurring anti-social behaviour to access this service."

Councillor Gary Taylor, Portfolio Holder for Communities & Facilities at South Holland District Council, said: "We urge all victims, whether it be a person, a community, or a business, to use the ASB case review so that we can support them in banishing any recurrent anti-social behaviour in which they are falling victim to."

In Lincolnshire, a local threshold has been established which must be met. The threshold is as follows:

The victim has reported three separate, but related incidents (within 30 days of taking place) to either the district council, police, or registered housing providers within the previous 6-month period and feel no effective action has been taken to resolve the ASB which persists.

An additional threshold has been introduced which allows a senior manager (district council Community Safety Manager/Police Inspector) to activate the trigger where they feel it is necessary to safeguard a vulnerable victim of ASB.

Once a request for an ASB case review is made, a specific point of contact who has had no direct involvement in the case will be assigned to gather the required information from the relevant agencies. From this, they will decide whether the threshold has been met.

If the threshold is met, the case review will be carried out to identify how partners responded to the complaints and any further actions that can be taken to try and resolve the issue. Victims will be given the right to attend the initial section of the review or to provide a written statement to express the effect the ASB has had.

The Community Trigger can deal with any type of anti-social behaviour. In the past we have dealt with cases involving noise, threats and verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation, items being thrown into gardens, damage to property, and shouting and swearing.  

Persistent or repeated acts of anti-social behaviour can have a debilitating impact on victims, and the cumulative impact of such incidents over a period of time can be underestimated. We encourage our communities to report issues and not to suffer in silence.

Information on how to request an ASB Case Review is available on the ASB section our website - Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review (Community Trigger) - Boston Borough Council

Alternatively, victims can call us and speak to a member of the community safety team.