New approach to anti-social behaviour put forward

North Northamptonshire Council's executive will meet to discuss the policy next week

A Reform UK-led local authority has set out a new policy which it said will help it tackle anti-social behaviour in its area.

North Northamptonshire Council has proposed introducing new ways for residents to report incidents and improvements to the ways in which council services, police and community partners are co-ordinated.

Reform said the policy, which is due to be considered before the full council on 9 September, would establish "preventative programmes targeting root causes" of anti-social behaviour and improved support services for victims.

If the policy was accepted it would be reviewed annually or in respect of any legislative changes thereafter.

According to a report put before a scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday, the council emphasised the importance of having a single set of tools, approaches and consistent services to accurately identify the threat, harm, and risk that victims and perpetrators of anti-social behaviour (ASB) present.

According to the report, the council's focus when dealing with complaints about ASB is early and preventative action, such as informal warning letters.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the council said that more serious or continued incidents could be addressed by Community Protection Notices (CPN) which, if breached, could result in a person getting a criminal record.

The report states: "It is critical that our approaches [to ASB] are uniform, transparent, and wholly based on the test of the evidence presented and investigated.

"Effective partnership working is a critical area in tackling ASB. This supports finding the right solutions to each case to prevent these cases escalating further."