WIREDGOV

Incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) are taking longer to tackle due to inconsistent and insufficient information sharing between agencies, in particular from housing providers to Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs), a new survey of councils has found.

The joint survey – commissioned by the Local Government Association and charity Resolve to coincide with ASB week – highlights that current poor quality and inconsistent information sharing arrangements can delay in addressing instances of ASB. The survey found that eight out of 10 councils (80 per cent) report that current information sharing agreements between agencies cause delays in their investigations and taking action against perpetrators.

Better information sharing arrangements with housing providers can expedite action on addressing instances of ASB, say councils. When information is not shared by and with housing providers, it can mean that the agencies responsible for tackling ASB – largely councils and police – are not made aware at an early stage and unable to act swiftly. This lack of coordination can lead to delays in tackling ASB or a lack of action.

Nine out of 10 (94 per cent) of councils thought that to a great or moderate extent a closer relationship between housing providers and CSPs leads to improved outcomes relating to ASB. 

A significant issue is lack of standard arrangements on sharing data, causing inconsistency across council areas and knowledge gaps between agencies, with organisations not using the same format, having inconsistent deadlines, or even sometimes only sharing information one way or with one agency. 

The best way to address this problem would be to standardise information sharing across agencies, say councils, with 85 per cent reporting they would support a single information sharing agreement, standardising the process across the country, and bringing more organisations in to access the data.

Other key findings from the survey reveal: 

• 83 per cent of councils very or fairly strongly believed housing providers should get full access to Community Safety Partnerships, meaning sharing of all information both ways and help with informing remedies.
• Three quarters of councils said changing personnel within partner organisations was a barrier they faced when sharing ASB related information across different organisations.
• Eight out of ten (83 per cent) said their council strongly believes that housing providers should have full access to CSPs (40 per cent fairly strongly, 43 per cent very strongly).
• 81 per cent support the creation of a specialist housing court for ASB cases. 
• 83 per cent believe that victims of ASB should receive national victim support.

The LGA and Resolve are calling on the Government to standardise the sharing of ASB information and bringing housing providers to work more closely with CSPs to improve ASB intervention outcomes. 

Cllr Heather Kidd, Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said: “Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a key priority not just for government, councils and the police, but our residents too – this survey shows very clearly what councils want and need to be more effective in tackling ASB. 

“Often residents will first report incidents of ASB to their housing provider. Councils want this information more consistently shared with councils and the police so proportionate action can be taken. It does not help residents if we see a delay in taking action due to poor information sharing and duplicate reports to partner agencies that should be working together. 

“We urge the Government to learn from this survey as councils are an integral partner to meeting its ambitions to tackle ASB.” 

Rebecca Bryant OBE, Chief Executive of Resolve, the UK’s leading community safety organisation, said: “This research highlights the importance of having efficient processes and mechanisms in place for agencies to access information when they are responding to anti-social behaviour. 

“We know speed is crucial when resolving anti-social behaviour, but without access to key information, it often becomes impossible for any agency to resolve a case quickly. As a result, the issue is left to potentially escalate, and further harm may be caused.

“This is a challenge that plagues almost all of Resolve’s members, the vast majority of whom are registered housing providers or local authorities. Housing providers are well placed to respond to anti-social behaviour, but in a recent survey of Resolve’s members, a staggering 97 per cent said they have experienced difficulty accessing information from other agencies, even when this information was needed to prevent harm or criminal activity.

“A single information sharing agreement, signed off nationally, would ensure that all agencies responding to anti-social behaviour can access the information they need, when they need it.”

About Resolve

Resolve is the UK's leading community safety organisation. We have been working closely with HM Government and our members for over 27 years to develop best practice, and shape national policy and legislation.

Our work is truly multi-faceted but it all centres around making communities safer, because we strongly believe that everybody has a right to feel safe where they live.

Our members are predominantly housing providers (managing over four million homes) and local authorities (representing some 14 million constituents), in addition to police forces, law firms and third-sector agencies.