Anti social behaviour (ASB) can cover a wide range of activities
and situations.
These range from writing graffiti, persons hanging around in gangs
causing obstructions, holding noisy parties, and vandalism, through
to intimidation and other criminal behaviour. It can also be
harassment of a
person because of their:
- sexuality
- physical disability
- learning disability
- ethnicity
Anti social behaviour is not necessarily the same as a neighbour
dispute, although these can sometimes escalate to ASB. It is
sometimes referred to as 'sub criminal' behaviour. This means acts,
which may not be directly illegal, and therefore a straightforward
police issue but which are more than just different attitudes and
standards such as are always going to be present in mixed
communities.
While ASB is often thought of as problem caused by young
people, this is not always the case. Tackling it is clearly seen to
be a priority by many West Lancashire residents. In the last DETER
national survey of English Housing, 40% of all households reported
vandalism and hooliganism as a problem.
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