Reading Borough Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team To Mark UK’s First ASB Awareness Week

READING Borough Council has joined a national campaign to take a stand against anti-social behaviour and make communities safer.

To mark the launch of the UK’s first official ASB Awareness Week, the Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team is launching the Reportable app which will allow residents to report anti-social behaviour problems more easily.

Running from July 19 to 25, ASB Awareness Week – Making Communities Safer aims to bring together people and organisations from across the country, and encourage them to take a stand against ASB by highlighting the options available to make communities safer.

Organised by community safety specialists Resolve, ASB Awareness Week is being backed by the Home Office, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Local Government Association (LGA), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC).

The Reportable app, which can be downloaded from the App Store for Apple and Google Play for Android, provides a convenient way for residents to report problems, allowing them to provide an incident report to the ASB Team of what has taken place and how it affected them, whilst also submitting photographic evidence.

Reading Borough Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team works in partnership with Thames Valley Police to tackle anti-social behaviour, including drug activity and exploitation, and the detrimental impact this has on individuals and the local community. In such cases the council works in partnership to robustly deal with the problem, seeking Partial Closure Orders to safeguard victims and, where appropriate, obtains Full Closure Orders and issues possession proceedings for those living in council housing who have been complicit.

Other forms of anti-social behaviour, from neighbour disputes to threats and intimidation, see the ASB Team consider a wide range of tools and powers to remedy issues. Examples include Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions to effectively stop ASB perpetrators, and in instances where there have been threats of violence a power of arrest can be attached to the court order. Where this has been utilised, it has provided an instant resolution to the ASB being caused as the perpetrator knows that further problems would lead to their arrest.

Councillor Adele Barnett-Ward, Lead Councillor for Neighbourhoods and Communities for Reading Borough Council, said:

“No-one should feel unsafe in their home or community. ASB can have a profound detrimental impact on people’s lives, not only when it is taking place but it can also affect their sense of safety and willingness to engage in their community after it has been tackled”.

“The new Reportable app is part of Reading Borough Council’s efforts to support victims and resolve issues as swiftly and effectively as possible”.

Rebecca Bryant OBE, chief executive of Resolve, said:

“We need to change the way we think about ASB. It is not low-level crime. It devastates the lives of victims and communities and can be a precursor to more serious crime.

“As the nation begins to recover from the impact of the pandemic and our society and economy celebrates the start of return to normal life, it is important that the challenge of ASB continues to be given the priority it needs nationally and locally so that people feel safe in their homes and communities.

“We are delighted to have Reading Borough Council involved in this hugely important and successful campaign.

“It is vital to develop partnership approaches across communities to deal with the growing challenges around ASB. Everyone has the right to feel safe in their home and community.”

For more information visit www.resolveuk.org.uk/asbawarenessweek

If you are suffering from ASB, do not suffer in silence, contact Reading Borough Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team on 01189 373787 or email ASB.Team@reading.gov.uk