In short: yes. The causes of crime and anti-social behaviour are so diverse that it can be difficult for one department or organisation to address them all. Whilst in some cases it may be appropriate for me, as Cabinet Member for Education, to have sound policies I also recognise that it is not always young people to blame (despite the reporting in the media).
I am aware that we need to have good policies to get people back into work (as this can be a contributing factor), good policies to address the licensing of pubs and clubs (district council duties, strictly speaking), good understanding with the police and with residents about where and when issues are occurring … there are so many factors involved that we must be constantly talking to young people, families, other councils and organisations and making sure that we are acting ‘in concert’.
This can be particularly hard when we are all skint and trying to save money in our budgets, but it is an important area of work.
Do you feel safe on your walk to school or where you socialise, or do you think that there is more the council can do?
Yes very hard. My family has been the victims of anti-social behaviour so I know how much anti-social behaviour can affect one’s everyday life. It can make life very difficult and unpleasant but because its very difficult to prove any crime has taken place, getting the authorities to deal with it can be difficult.
However all the authorities recognise this and I believe most have policies and people in place to try and make sure that anti-social behaviour is dealt with.
I do believe we have to look and investigate to see if the anti-social behaviour can be dealt with in a positive way. For example, in one area a group of youngsters were congregating near shops because it was the only place on the estate with lights and seating. Once the council had built a small shelter nearby but not in the way of residents there was no problem.
It is sometimes to easy to label all young peoples behaviour as “anti-social” when they are just being young and exuberant. Of course that doesn’t excuse rude or indecent behaviour but I always ask what exactly is the behaviour that is being complained about, one answer I got was ” talking loudly”!
In other words lets deal strongly with real anti-social behaviour but lets investigate and make sure it is real anti-social behaviour.
Anti social behaviour is very difficult to deal with this usually upsets many people in a small area, its trying to get others to understand and respect peoples feelings, for example. You might be having a quite night in watching the television and your neighbours decide to play really loud music, to them they are just having fun but to you it is offensive. You might put up with this until 11pm but they will not turn it off until 4am, this is antisocial and difficult to deal with. Have you had to deal with anti social behaviour problems or have you been anti social? Ruth
Yes, because there are so many definitions of anti-social behaviour and so many people involved in tackling both ASB and crime, and there are so many different ways of dealing with it. Prevention is always better than cure, so education and young people setting good examples are really important. But it is important too that we try to help those involved in such behaviour to get back on track. It really is a question of all the various agencies involved working together, doing a bit of lateral thinking and looking for positive ways to improve things. Punishment is not always the answer – we need to try to find out why is it happening in the first place and then try to find a solution.
In short: yes. The causes of crime and anti-social behaviour are so diverse that it can be difficult for one department or organisation to address them all. Whilst in some cases it may be appropriate for me, as Cabinet Member for Education, to have sound policies I also recognise that it is not always young people to blame (despite the reporting in the media).
I am aware that we need to have good policies to get people back into work (as this can be a contributing factor), good policies to address the licensing of pubs and clubs (district council duties, strictly speaking), good understanding with the police and with residents about where and when issues are occurring … there are so many factors involved that we must be constantly talking to young people, families, other councils and organisations and making sure that we are acting ‘in concert’.
This can be particularly hard when we are all skint and trying to save money in our budgets, but it is an important area of work.
Do you feel safe on your walk to school or where you socialise, or do you think that there is more the council can do?
0
Yes very hard. My family has been the victims of anti-social behaviour so I know how much anti-social behaviour can affect one’s everyday life. It can make life very difficult and unpleasant but because its very difficult to prove any crime has taken place, getting the authorities to deal with it can be difficult.
However all the authorities recognise this and I believe most have policies and people in place to try and make sure that anti-social behaviour is dealt with.
I do believe we have to look and investigate to see if the anti-social behaviour can be dealt with in a positive way. For example, in one area a group of youngsters were congregating near shops because it was the only place on the estate with lights and seating. Once the council had built a small shelter nearby but not in the way of residents there was no problem.
It is sometimes to easy to label all young peoples behaviour as “anti-social” when they are just being young and exuberant. Of course that doesn’t excuse rude or indecent behaviour but I always ask what exactly is the behaviour that is being complained about, one answer I got was ” talking loudly”!
In other words lets deal strongly with real anti-social behaviour but lets investigate and make sure it is real anti-social behaviour.
0
Anti social behaviour is very difficult to deal with this usually upsets many people in a small area, its trying to get others to understand and respect peoples feelings, for example. You might be having a quite night in watching the television and your neighbours decide to play really loud music, to them they are just having fun but to you it is offensive. You might put up with this until 11pm but they will not turn it off until 4am, this is antisocial and difficult to deal with. Have you had to deal with anti social behaviour problems or have you been anti social? Ruth
0
Yes, because there are so many definitions of anti-social behaviour and so many people involved in tackling both ASB and crime, and there are so many different ways of dealing with it. Prevention is always better than cure, so education and young people setting good examples are really important. But it is important too that we try to help those involved in such behaviour to get back on track. It really is a question of all the various agencies involved working together, doing a bit of lateral thinking and looking for positive ways to improve things. Punishment is not always the answer – we need to try to find out why is it happening in the first place and then try to find a solution.
0