Last week’s BBC Panorama report, Anti-Social Behaviour – Afraid in Our Own Homes, struck a chord. It reminded me of my mother who lived on the same council estate for the best part of 50 years. Not surprisingly, the estate changed significantly over that long period. More bluntly, it went downhill.

One symptom was an increase in anti-social behaviour (ASB) that impacted on my mother and many of her neighbours. Broken windows, bins set alight and other acts of vandalism became commonplace. To be old or in some way different was enough to be singled out for particular attention.

My mother probably didn’t help her cause by being feisty enough to challenge the perpetrators. Consequently, she lived in fear of the dark nights. In the end she was driven out, but thankfully, saw out the rest of her days in the peace and security of a sheltered housing complex. Not everyone is as lucky and many continue to live the nightmare that is ASB.

The Antisocial Behaviour Etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 defines ASB as “acting in a manner that causes or is likely to cause, alarm and distress”, if it is persistent and involves someone not of the same household. In July 2020, the Scottish Community Safety Network (SCSN) published a research-based picture of anti-social behaviour in Scotland. One of its key findings was levels of ASB have declined in Scotland over the past ten years. That will probably come as a surprise to a lot of people in the worst blighted areas.

Another finding was that “those living in the most deprived areas are more likely to perceive ASB.” It’s probably just me, but my eyes tend to glaze over when I learn perceptions of ASB are “often inaccurate and influenced by stereotypes”; how it’s important to “avoid stigmatisation” and “criminalisation” and how strategies are moving towards “early intervention and mediation”.

SCSN has recently entered a partnership in Lanarkshire that will “approach the issue from an asset-based, pro-social and trauma-informed lens”. Answers on a postcard, please. I can imagine my mother’s reaction as she viewed her broken window through a “trauma-informed lens”.

Scotland may be different from England, though I doubt it. The Panorama report claimed ASB is on the increase and featured an area of Middlesbrough known locally as “Little Beirut”. Graphic and frightening CCTV footage illustrated the problem. Middlesbrough’s mayor has talked of locals being terrorised, describing ASB directed at the old and different as “hate crime”.

Baroness Newlove of Warrington entitled her final report as Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, “Anti-Social Behaviour: Living A Nightmare”. She described “immense distress and suffering”, leaving its victims “feeling unsafe in their own homes”. Anyone doubting the limited effectiveness of current strategies need only read the horrific case studies in the annex to Baroness Newlove’s report.

The alleged decrease in ASB in Scotland may well be smoke and mirrors. Victims possibly feel there’s little point in reporting incidents to the police or council, especially when so many101 calls go unanswered.

I spent much of my career in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas and had regular contact with ASB victims. They felt police involvement often made things worse and, in any case, ASB was considered “low level”. Victims also felt ASB was taken more seriously in more affluent areas.

Undoubtedly, ASB is a complex social, economic and educational issue for which there is no silver bullet. Multi-disciplinary approaches are certainly part of the solution, but more is needed. For example, should there be clearer expectations of parents in terms of roles and responsibilities? Is Middlesbrough’s mayor correct when demanding a tougher line? After all, zero tolerance has enjoyed some success in US inner cities.

The current Victims’ Commissioner favours a sharper focus on victims as opposed to perpetrators. Sure, the rights of those responsible for ASB, often youngsters, should be respected. But their victims have rights too; namely the right to live free from fear in what should be a safe space, their own home.

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