Anti-social behaviour and hate crime policy consultation

Key findings from survey responses

Our response

Majority of customers have a good understanding of ASB and hate crime. A large number of customers don’t understand the term mate crime.

We'll add a specific section onto the website and do further promotion of what mate crime looks like and the signs as well as how to report.

A lot of customers didn't know how to report any of these issues to us.

We'll do further promotion and look to make this more obvious on our website. We'll also include information in our customer magazine.

Most customers advised they would prefer to report these issues as a phone call.

We'll be looking into setting up a dedicated ASB phone line where customers will be able to report directly through to our ASB Team.

Some customers advised they would not report this to us as they would prefer to contact the police, some didn’t feel that we would act upon the issues and some customers advised they wouldn’t feel confident in reporting such issues.

We'll look to publish a greater number of case studies around ASB outcomes and the difference this has made to our customers and the neighbourhood in general. We'll also look to publish the measures we take to protect customers who report ASB and how we work with agencies to put further support networks in place.

Over half of the customers who responded did not know what action we can take to support them if they experience any of these issues.

As above.

Customer recommendations

Our response

A way to report cases anonymously online and over the phone. Customers worry about the repercussions of reporting cases; they also worry that someone will mistakenly share their identity and it makes them not comfortable with reporting cases.

To take action against perpetrators of ASB we'll need to receive evidence and know who to contact to obtain further details. Reports can be made anonymously, which we'll look into, however without evidence and witness statements, we would find it difficult to build a case against perpetrators. Customers can report via our website and telephone anonymously currently.

Once a case is logged, take action quickly, respond to the customer quickly and lay out a clear plan of action.

This is in place with clear timescales and guidance in respect of customer contact and action.

Evict the perpetrators.

We'll always work with the perpetrator of ASB in the first instance with the aim of stopping the ASB from continuing whilst continuing to build the case and gather evidence, working with the complainants and partner agencies. Should the ASB continue, and once there's sufficient evidence in place, we'll then apply to the court for possession of the home. There's a clear legal framework in which we have to operate within before we can seek to gain possession of the home.

If the perpetrator isn't a Longhurst Group customer or is a private owner, provide information that customers can access on what they can do in this situation.

In the first instance, customers can report to us as we want to support any customer experiencing ASB. We'll give guidance as to what our customers then need to do and who else they will need to contact, and we'll support them working with those agencies.

Give weekly updates on open ASB cases.

We agree timescales with customers individually in respect of updates with times and dates that are agreeable to them.

Have more scheme visits or face to face visits with customers so that they build up a relationship with their Housing Officer and feel more confident in sharing issues like this.

We put in place face to face visits with customers as agreed individually with them when required. We're also looking to reintroduce more regular scheme inspections.

Give customers leaflets with advice on how to recognise the signs of these issues and what they should do about them.

We guide customers to our website where all information is available and up to date. We can send out information on request but as the website is updated regularly, we don’t produce leaflets as they quickly can become out of date, and we're keen to ensure customers don’t have old and out of date information.

Some customers had experience of cases and advised they felt that we did not take much action and that everything took too long.

Various customers also mentioned that we need to do more than just give warnings.

We understand customers' frustrations in respect of timescales. We operate within a legal framework that requires us to take a number of steps before any legal action can commence.

Legally, we have to follow steps to warn perpetrators of their ASB and to be able to demonstrate this to the court ahead of any legal action progressing. Whilst this can take time, this is a key part of building a case for legal action and without it the case wouldn't be considered by court.

A lot of customers recommended that we have CCTV in more areas on our schemes, especially where there are reports of ASB regularly.

We'll look at implementing CCTV on schemes where there's a high number of ASB cases reported. We ask customers to report cases of ASB which will then help us work with partner agencies and look to erect CCTV in those areas.

It was recommended that there be more security on houses as a standard practice such as more lighting, video doorbells etc. for safety and to deter perpetrators.

We look at each case individually in respect of adding additional security measures for cases of ASB.

Implement ongoing support after cases to continue to check in on customers who have experienced these issues and that things continue to improve.

This is in place through our ASB Team and Housing Officers checking on the welfare of complainants after the case has been resolved.

Do random visits, not booked ones, with perpetrators so they can be ‘caught out’ in some circumstances.

This is already in place and part of our process.

Make sure all customers know all of the information shared in this survey.

Responses will be published for customers to access.

Don’t dismiss trivial things as they can then escalate.

We take all reports of ASB seriously along with all supporting evidence.