Anti-Social Behaviour
Anti-social behaviour affects different people in different ways. For some people it means living next door to noisy neighbours, for other people it is about graffiti, litter or abandoned cars on the street.
It can hold back the regeneration of our most disadvantaged areas, creating the environment in which crime can take hold. It damages the quality of life for too many people - one in three people say it is a problem in their area.
What is the government doing
The Government is determined to take action to tackle the problem and to create a society where the rights we enjoy are based on respect and responsibility to other people and to the community around us.
The Home Office established the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit in January 2003 to lead the drive against anti-social behaviour. The TOGETHER campaign across England and Wales represents this commitment to tackle not tolerate anti-social behaviour.
The Government’s commitment to cleaner streets is seeing new developments on the ground - like the multi-agency approach adopted by Southwark Council in London.
Southwark Council Environment - Crime Blitz
In response to concerns of local residents, Southwark Council are taking a zero - tolerance approach to environment crimes as part of their commitment to clean up the borough.
Southwark have been targeting issues such as fly tipping, litter and graffiti by raising awareness of the problems and imposing fines where necessary. Targeting these issues is carried out on a day-to-day basis by enforcement officers and community wardens. Each year in Southwark there are over 40,000 incidences of fly tipping. These can be anything from domestic waste to large volumes of rubble. In an average month 60 or more fines are given out for small fly tips and littering. Larger incidents and repeat offenders are taken forward for prosecution.
In addition to day-to-day enforcement, Southwark Council carry out. large-scale operations aimed at cleaning up a specific area, working in partnership with other organisations such as the police and fire brigade. The operation described below is shown in the video clip "Clean Streets".
Operation in Camberwell Station Road
Ninety officers from a range of agencies, led by Southwark Council, swooped on Camberwell Station Road in a co-ordinated crackdown on what has become an environment crime hotspot. Following concerns raised by local residents, the area under the railway arches was the focus for removing fly tipped materials, clearing abandoned vehicles, and issuing fines for illegally dumped waste and illegally parked cars.
In a two-hour period, officers gave 3 fixed penalty notices for illegally dumped waste, issued 4 section 34 notices requesting waste transfer notices, issued 34 parking tickets, removed 28 vehicles, and collected 37 car tyres. Seven cars were clamped and 14 were reported for having no tax.
Officers also picked up 5.7 tonnes of rubbish and used 45 litres of de-greasing agent to break down oil deposits on the street. To finish off, 2250 litres of water was used to wash down Camberwell Station Road.
In addition, the Health and Safety Executive inspections uncovered examples of poor practice in the control of flammable substances and the spraying of toxic paints. All the arches will be revisited to ensure that the risks from these activities are properly controlled.
The swoop on Camberwell Station Road, London SE5 took place on Thursday 25 March 2004. Similar action will be taken on other hotspots in the borough in the coming months.
The following people were involved:
Southwark Council
- 1 Trading Standards Inspector,
- 6 Community Wardens,
- 9 Enforcement Officers and 1 seconded Met Police Officer,
- 16 Street Cleaning Staff
Other Agencies supporting the swoop
- Met Police (8 officers, 3 Community Support Officers)
- DVLA (2 clampers, 2 stoppers, 2 vehicles)
- Apcoa (8 parking attendants, 1 supervisor)
- Rapid Recovery (5 removal operatives, 5 trucks)
- Health and Safety Executive (2 inspectors)
- Environment Agency (3 inspectors, 1 vehicle)
- London Fire Brigade (2 officers)
- Spacia (2 officers)
- Benefits Agency (4 officers)
The following action was taken
- 34 Penalty Charge Notices issued
- 15 vehicles removed for parking contraventions
- 11 vehicles removed for being stored on the highway/ abandoned
- 2 vehicles voluntarily surrendered, removed and destroyed
- 7 cars clamped by the DVLA
- 14 cars reported for no tax by the DVLA
- 1 stolen vehicle recovered
- 3 Fixed Penalty Notices issued (£50 fine)
- 4 Section 34 Notices issued (requesting Waste Transfer Notices)
- 1 Trade Waste Agreement finalised
- 1 vehicle for sale on the highway impounded
- Trading Standards also advised three arches of the need to display their business details on the premises
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