Anti-social behaviour strategy

The council has a wide range of responsibilities and resources to tackle ASB;

• A new Neighbourhood and Enforcement Team has been created to manage both low level and serious cases of ASB. To demonstrate our commitment to keeping our communities safe, there are now three dedicated ASB Officers, an ASB Co-ordinator and a Team Leader investigating and managing reports of ASB as well as driving service improvements. A patch based network of 10 Neighbourhood Officers deal with low level nuisance and neighbour disputes. The ASB team provide a tenure blind service fulfilling the councils' obligations as a Local Authority and provider of social housing.
• The Community Safety Partnership, safer stronger, is a strategic partnership that exists to reduce crime and ASB in accordance with the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The councils commitment to this initiative consists of a Community Partnerships Manager, Community Partnerships Co-Ordinator and a Safer Communities Officer who publish and deliver on the Community Safety Action Plan that encompasses a range of initiatives to engage, educate, communicate with and support our communities. The Community Partnerships Team also provides a preventative and targeted response to youth ASB and other emerging issues.
• The Environment Services Team and Public Health and Protection Team have responsibilities to deal with environmental crime including noise, dog control, graffiti, littering, fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles. These responsibilities arise, in particular, from the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The protection of the environment is separated into two teams within the Council; the street wardens, who also support enforcement of the PSPO, and the Community Environment Team.
• After extensive consultation a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) is now effective in Hatfield town centre to respond to local concerns and prevent anti-social behaviour linked to alcohol consumption, aggressive begging and public urination. Whilst the focus remains one of outreach and support, WHBC will provide resources to enforce the PSPO via the street warden and ASB teams and will work in partnership with Hertfordshire Constabulary to provide an incident logging service via 101 as well as proactive town centre patrols and enforcement of the PSPO. A key aspect of the PSPO implementation is that Resolve charity workers have also been commissioned to provide outreach support to tackle rough sleeping.