Find out how best to deal with antisocial behaviour, damage to property, fly-posting and nuisance or noise from neighbours and businesses.
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This can include but is not limited to nuisance behaviour, intimidation and harassment, vehicle related nuisance and street drinking. The council recognises that anti-social behaviour can have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of those in the community and we work in partnership with police, housing and other agencies to deal with it. If you are currently experiencing ASB and wish to report the matter, please use the form below.
Report antisocial behaviour incidents
To find information on Public space orders for dogs click here
If someone’s life or health is threatened, or a crime is in progress, call 999 and alert the police. This can include, but is not limited to, activity such as criminal damage, assault, theft and threatening behaviour. Anti-social behaviour can be a one-off incident, such as a piece of offensive graffiti, but often it is a series of low-level incidents which, when they continue, can become very distressing. If someone else’s behaviour is having a negative impact on you or your family and is causing you alarm, harassment or distress:
Report an antisocial behaviour problem online here.
For us to be able to take action in relation to anti-social behaviour, we need to show that it is persistent and continuing and that it is having a detrimental effect on those in the locality. It is therefore useful for customers to keep a diary of incidents they believe to be anti-social, which can help us to establish the level of impact. If the problem is only related to noise nuisance, read our advice in the statutory nuisance section. All complaints are confidential, so you don’t need to worry about your identity being revealed. We can also accept anonymous calls providing we have enough information to investigate the incident.
In order to investigate we need details of all the issues causing a problem. It is helpful to know:
How long the problem has been going on.
How regularly it occurs.
The location of the problem.
If it tends to occur at a particular time.
Who is affected.
Any details you have about the person who is causing the problem.
If you or the person causing the problem lives in a rented property, it may be helpful to liaise with the landlord to help to resolve the problem, so it is useful to know the tenure of your property.
Once we’ve collected all the information we need from you, we’ll provide you with a contact officer who is responsible for investigating your complaint and will keep you updated. We may liaise with the police, social landlords and other tenants to get a better understanding of the issues and corroborate the allegations. We may also speak to the other party if they are known, with your agreement, to see if the problems can be resolved informally. In some cases, we may seek the views of other residents in the area, to see if anyone else is experiencing similar problems. If we conclude a problem does exist, we will take action to resolve it. This may be an informal agreement, mediation, a warning or it could lead to a formal intervention using our legal powers, including a civil injunction or community protection notice.
Although the council receives frequent complaints regarding the playing of ball games etc., children playing football or other such games in public spaces is not generally considered to be a matter which should be prevented or regulated by the council, nor treated as anti-social behaviour. Signage stating “No ball games” is unenforceable, although it may have the effect of discouraging such activities. The Council no longer erects such signage on its land as a matter of course. Notwithstanding that the council is generally supportive of children being allowed to participate freely in such sporting pastimes, where intentional or reckless damage has been caused, you may wish to consider contacting the police regarding such damage to property: Online: https://beta.northumbria.police.uk By telephone: 101 If the matter involves an excessive number of children gathering or that the associated noise becomes unreasonable, you may wish to consider speaking politely with those involved or with their parents to explain your concerns, if you feel it appropriate to do so. The council will rarely become involved in such cases but, if there are specific concerns, the Community Safety Team may be able to offer some advice and assistance, depending upon the particular circumstances of the case in question. To raise any such concerns directly with us, please contact Community Safety: By email: public.protection@northumberland.gov.uk By telephone: 0345 600 6400 If the area in question is part of the council’s housing stock, you may wish to raise any issues with the dedicated housing officer for the estate in question: By telephone: 0345 600 6400 If the area is part of an estate managed by a housing association, you may wish to contact them directly to see whether they are able to offer any assistance.
Regulation and enforcement of the use of CCTV cameras or other recording equipment is the responsibility of the Information Commissioner's Office (“ICO”). Guidance on the use of domestic CCTV for use at home may be found on the government’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property which also provides links to various pages on the ICO’s website, including guidance for those being filmed by CCTV. What can I do if my neighbour's CCTV is filming my property? In the first instance, you may wish to consider contacting your neighbour to explain your concerns. Your neighbour may be willing to show you the footage that they have, which may reassure you that it is less intrusive than you thought, or they may be prepared to reposition the cameras so that they no longer capture images outside their property boundary. If you believe that the manner in which the CCTV is being used amounts to anti-social behaviour, you may contact the Police or the council’s Community Safety Team to see whether any further action by the authorities would be appropriate in all the circumstances of the case in question. “Anti-social behaviour” means: (a) conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person, (b) conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person's occupation of residential premises, or (c) conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person. The Police and the council also have powers to deal with instances where either authority is satisfied on reasonable grounds that: (a) the conduct of the individual using or having control of the CCTV is having a detrimental effect, of a persistent or continuing nature, on the quality of life of those in the locality, and (b) the conduct is unreasonable. However, in the majority of cases it would be highly unlikely that the use of domestic CCTV would fall into any of these categories. Should you consider that you do need to contact either the Police or the Council, the respective contact details are: Northumbria Police Online: https://beta.northumbria.police.uk By telephone: 101 Community Safety: By email: public.protection@northumberland.gov.uk By telephone: 0345 600 6400
The law generally allows people to have a bonfire at any time of the day providing that the smoke given off from the fire does not cause a ‘statutory nuisance’ to other people's premises. The law relating to statutory nuisance is set out in The Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.79 - s.80. In assessing nuisance, officers would look to the severity of the problems the fire was causing for example the amount of smoke created, where it was drifting and the effects it was causing in other people’s property. Additionally, we would consider how often the problems occur and how long they go on for when they do occur. Generally, for a nuisance to be suffered the smoke from the bonfire must affect other people's premises to such an extent that normal use of those premises is not possible. Conditions that may give rise to a statutory nuisance could be:
smoke entering people's houses
smoke blowing across gardens and preventing normal use of the garden
smoke affecting people's washing or
hot ash and cinders landing on people's property.
Additionally, where the effects of the fire have a detrimental, unreasonable and persistent effect on a locality they could be classed as anti-social behaviour and action such as a Community Protection Notice could be taken under the Police, Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2014. Under the Highways Act 1980 a person responsible for lighting a fire which causes smoke to drift across a road faces a fine if it endangers traffic. (Please contact the Police for further information if these circumstances arise). The council would normally discourage the use of garden fires for disposing of waste as there are several more appropriate methods. Click on the link for further information on disposing of household waste, bulky waste, hazardous waste and garden waste. There is also information on composting and recycling.
If you are concerned about statutory nuisance, you can:
Talk to the person causing the problem, as they may be unaware the behaviour is disturbing you.
Contact specialist officers at the council who can advise you and investigate the matter if necessary.
Investigations into nuisance will assess:
How severe the problem is.
How often it occurs.
How long it lasts for.
You will be required to complete a log or diary for a minimum period of two weeks this will help demonstrate the frequency, duration and severity of the problem and how it is impacting on you. On receipt of your completed diary an Officer will assess the diary to decide if the problem requires further investigation. If so, efforts will be made to try and obtain evidence of the existence of a nuisance. This may be by installing equipment to record the problem or by visiting your property to see it first-hand. This information will then be assessed to decide if the problem is serious enough and whether there is sufficient evidence to deal with the matter as a statutory nuisance. If so, the person responsible will be given a legal notice which requires them to stop or reduce the activity to a level where it does not cause a nuisance. This could be effective immediately or by a notice period. The person who receives the notice has a legal right to appeal against it. Therefore, officers need to be able to provide evidence in court, such as results of monitoring, log sheets or witness statements. In some cases, statutory nuisance is only one aspect of a problem that could include abusive, threatening or antisocial behaviour. Officers will still be able to give advice and investigate these matters as part of, or alongside, a nuisance investigation.
Report damage to a council property problem here.
Criminal damage is defined by the police as follows: “Criminal damage refers to crimes where any person, without lawful excuse, intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages any property belonging to another. Activities resulting in non-permanent damage (i.e. that can be rectified, cleaned off or removed at no cost) such as letting down car tyres, should not be classed as criminal damage, nor should accidental damage.” Damage to a council property on the other hand covers crimes against households and household property including cars.
Report graffiti online here.
We will remove graffiti from any property in Northumberland. A small fee may be charged in some cases. We’ll also ask the property owner to sign a disclaimer, as the removal process can sometimes damage certain surfaces. We aim to remove any obscene graffiti within 24 hours of receiving a report.
To view our graffiti and fly poster removal policy, click here.
Your community safety officer is Gordon Smiles.
Gordon has been in Housing and Community Safety for many years and has extensive knowledge of his area. As an ex police officer he has a wide understanding of problem solving and working closely with partner agencies and has a vast knoweldge base to draw upon. Gordon helps coordinate the Blyth area multi agency meeting at which local community safety issues are tackled using a problem solving approach. He works closely with other partners such as police and housing and has excellent working links with a variety of support agencies. Latest News Motorcycle disorder conitnues to be a county wide issue, with the riding of off road motorcyles and quad bikes being reported on a regular basis. Police should always be contacted in the first instance as they have the powers and resources to respond appropriately, however we work closely with our police colleagues to identify any support that Public Protection can provide as part of the partnership approach. If you are experiencing anti social behaviour in the Blyth area you can contact Gordon via Public Protection:
Or via email here
Your community safety officer is Judith Davis Judith has been a community safety officer for 15 years following a 10 year career as a police officer. She has an extensive knowledge of the Alnwick and Amble areas and the community safety issues that affect them. She works closely with police and other agencies and has strong links with schools as part of her education and engagement role. Alongside colleagues from Public Protection she helps coordinate the local multi agency meetings where community safety issues are discussed and tackled using a problem solving approach. Judith deals with anti social behaviour and nuisance from all residents, irrespective of whether or not they are council tenants. Education work Judith regularly delivers inputs in schools, delivering education around the safe and legal use of social media and other topics that affect young people. COVID-19 saw the use of social media increase as young people were unable to socialise face to face and this has had an impact on young people in a variety of ways. If you have concerns around your child's use of social media, you can contact Judith for advice and resources that can help you. If you would like to know more or would like a visit to your school or organisation, please get in touch via email here Latest News Judith is working with police to tackle issues of anti social behaviour in and around the Alnwick area. The bus station has been an area of particular concern and as a result CCTV is now in place and being monitored by police. Any incidents should be reported to police or NCC giving the nature of the incident along with a date and time, which will allow scrutiny of the CCTV footage to take place. In Amble, she is working with police and Housing agencies to tackle incidents of youth disorder around the town. Home visits and school sessions have been done as part of an approach to tackle issues as they arise.
If you would prefer to report incidents anonymously, you can do so through Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555111. This includes activity relating to drugs, exploitation of young people, human traffiking and violence & intimidation.
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