Anti-social Behaviour - Whom to call and When

November 2021

Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) cuts across many agencies and departments, therefore it can be difficult to know whom to contact and when?

This information leaflet should be used as a guide to direct your complaint to the most appropriate agency; however, the exact circumstances of an incident can alter who is responsible.

• If a crime is suspected, or when it's more than noise alone and could involve criminal activity – your complaint should be directed to the Police.

• If the ASB relates to noise nuisance, litter etc – your complaint should be directed to Runnymede Borough Council (RBC) as detailed below

• If you have evidence the incident involves students from Royal Holloway – You can also report to the Royal Holloway Wellbeing (Community) Team via email: h community@royalholloway.ac.uk

*In all cases we ask you to copy in Egham Residents' Association (ERA) so that we can keep a record of incidents. Please include the date/time, a description of the disturbance and your road name. It would be even better if you have photographic evidence that you can add to the email. The email account RHULproblems@EghamResidentsAssociation.co.uk will be monitored by members of ERA and with your permission we can keep in touch directly about our plans around these issues. Data will be covered by GDPR and only designated persons will be able to see personal data.

Noise

Summary

• Noise from parties coming from a property should be reported to RBC Environmental Health.

• General noise in the street from people talking and just overall being loud whilst they are moving about would be Nuisance behaviour (which is reported on the council ASB form). This is typically called Transient Noise.

• Swearing, aggressive, threatening behaviours would be reported to Police.

Where the noise is coming from a property (including a garden) contact Runnymede Borough Council Environmental Health Team with your name and address, the address the noise is coming from and how the noise is affecting the use of your property. Issues reported outside of working hours will be followed up the next working day as the RBC Environmental Health department do not run a 24 hour call out service.

Phone: 01932 838383

Email: environmentalhealth@runnymede.gov.uk

Report online: https://www.runnymede.gov.uk/nuisance-1/make-noise-complaint/2

Environmental Health may ask residents to complete a Noise Diary, which we recommend that residents use to keep a record of times and dates - /140/noise-nuisance-log-sheets" https://www.runnymede.gov.uk/downloads/file/140/noise-nuisance-log-sheets - please note that diary sheets should be submitted in a timely manner and not simply kept for months at a time without submitting as this will unnecessarily delay the process. You will be requested to keep further diary sheets if the evidence supplied is not sufficient.

Reporting Transient Noise and other forms of ASB to the Council

Transient noise (generally transient noise would be people passing through streets and causing a disturbance by speaking loudly, laughing or singing) which occurs outside the boundaries of a property is not actionable by the RBC Environmental Health team under statutory noise nuisance powers and should be reported to Runnymede Borough Council via the online ASB form under the category of 'Nuisance behaviour': https://www.runnymede.gov.uk/community-safety/antisocial-behaviour

These reports are received by the Council's Community Safety Coordinator and if you are in any doubt where to submit a report, use this form and the Co-ordinator will disseminate to the correct department/organisation accordingly.

When it's more than just noise

There may be “hidden” criminal activity going on alongside the noise e.g.

•Drug misuse / dealing

• Rowdy behaviour (including street drinking/threats of violence). This can be either at a property, towards you or spilling out onto the street.

• Fear of imminent violence

In these cases, you should contact the police. In an emergency, or if a crime is being committed at the time, dial 999

For all other matters, please use the non-emergency options noted below.

Reporting to the Police

There are multiple ways to report to Surrey Police;

• Online: https://www.surrey.police.uk/ro/report/

• Live Chat (available on the above 'report' webpage)

• Private message on social media via the 'Runnymede Beat' and 'Surrey Police' pages

• Calling 101

All other enquiries to Police can be directed via: h https://www.surrey.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/

To report anonymously, please report to CrimeStoppers;

• Online: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/

• Phone: 0800 555 111

Why copy in Egham Residents' Association?

ERA attend regular meetings with RBC and Royal Holloway. By keeping a record of the scale of any student related ASB we are better able to demonstrate the severity of the problem at those meetings. ERA also work closely with your Egham Town Councillors, and by having comprehensive information they can work more effectively with the RBC Community Safety Co-ordinator on your behalf.

What can I do if nothing is being done?

There are options available when the problems are not being resolved satisfactorily and/or keep occurring. Anyone has the right to make an application for an ASB Case Review called a Community Trigger. Should you need assistance, your Egham Town Councillor can help you.

This process has a threshold of three reported incidents within the previous six months therefore it is important that incidents do not go unreported to agencies. Individuals or groups can make a request for a Community Trigger and your Councillor can do this on your behalf if preferred. A Community Trigger is a mechanism for a case review to bring the necessary agencies together to identify whether any further actions can be taken to resolve the matter moving forward. It is not a way to raise a complaint about a particular agency or dwell on the past. During the case review, all options will be considered including informal remedies, support services and enforcement actions as necessary. Applicants under the Community Trigger can be involved by giving a victim impact statement focusing on how the behaviour is impacting on them/the community however this is not mandatory but the Community Safety Co-Ordinator will guide you through the process.

Further information and the request form can be found on https://www.runnymede.gov.uk/community-safety/community-trigger

All requests must be made in writing.

Impartial help for ASB

ASB Help are a national charity (Charity Number: 1152851) who focus on and promote the rights of victims with a view to ensuring that effective support for antisocial behaviour victims is provided by the responsible agencies. For further guidance and support, please visit: https://asbhelp.co.uk/how-to-report-anti-social-behaviour/