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Crime and Policing Bill

If the Crime and Policing Bill makes its way through all the stages of the parliamentary process this year, we could see its roll out of new and extended powers. This could include a trialling period for Respect Orders, which may take place in hotspot areas across the country.

What does this mean for victims?

When this law is introduced, victims can expect that persistent perpetrators of ASB will be served a Respect Order. You can find more on Respect Orders and what they are here.

Likewise, the introduction of the Crime and Policing Bill could see greater involvement of housing providers in tackling ASB given that this bill will provide them with greater powers e.g. ability to seek housing-related injunctions, extended closure powers. If housing providers embrace these new powers, more victims may view their housing providers as viable avenues for support, improving trust.

Sentencing Bill

For many ASB victims, the Sentencing Bill might feel distant or irrelevant, especially when they struggle to get agencies to take their reports seriously in the first place – long before a case ever reaches court or sentencing. Nonetheless, for those cases that do reach court proceedings, this Bill is a significant development in tackling ASB and could have a big impact.

The Sentencing Bill will mean:

• Short sentences (under 12 months) would no longer automatically result in time in prison; instead, the offender could be sentenced to community-based punishments (e.g. unpaid work, curfews etc).
• Courts may suspend sentences up to 3 years depending on circumstances.
• Courts will have more flexibility to impose non-custodial restrictions e.g. injunctions.

What does this mean for victims?

Importantly, this Bill makes victim protection a statutory focus, explicitly advising to consider victim impact. This Bill should also provide courts with a broader ‘toolbox’ – meaning sanctions could be tailored to the offence and risk, better protecting victims and communities.

However, from our own conversations with victims, we understand and appreciate that some victims may initially feel that the perpetrator has ‘gotten away with it’ if they avoid a custodial sentence. We hope that community-based sanctions and monitoring will prevent reoffending and give victims a sense of stability and peace.

Whether you have/are a victim of anti-social behaviour or not, you can also stay aware of local community safety meetings which are a great opportunity to have your voice heard by local agencies regarding your concerns.

Conclusion

We remain optimistic about policy developments expected throughout 2026. We will continue to monitor their impact closely and listen to the experiences of both victims and practitioners, using this insight to shape and inform our future work.

What types of ASB might increase at Christmas time?

Christmas time may bring about the following anti-social behaviour:

• Alcohol-related public disorder
• Noise nuisance e.g. from neighbour parties
• Retail related ASB e.g. abuse towards shopworkers
• Transport related ASB e.g. rowdy behaviour, vandalism, harassment of passengers
• ASB perpetrated by youths on Christmas break e.g. loitering and intimidation (even if unintentional)

2. Higher alcohol consumption – Drinkaware found that 64% of UK drinkers intended to drink more over Christmas in 2024 than they usually did throughout the year. Research shows that alcohol consumption is linked to increased risk of anti-social behaviour perpetration. Naturally, the festive period may therefore hold risk of ASB taking place due to increased alcohol consumption.

3. Social/mental health stressors – The Christmas period can bring increased stress, from financial strain to relationship difficulties. Coupled with the reduced hours/closure of some support services over this period, tensions may rise. This could lead to increased risk of domestic-related anti-social behaviour like shouting and arguing.

What are local agencies doing to prevent ASB and protect communities?

Over the years we have seen local agencies like police forces design specific Christmas ASB/Crime prevention plans to protect communities during this period.

For example, this year, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have launched Operation North Star which is in line with the government’s ‘Winter of Action’ plan, which is similar to their recent Safer Streets Initiative.

GMP stated:

What can we do to keep ourselves safe this Christmas?

We understand that those most vulnerable in our communities may be concerned by the risk of ASB at Christmas time. We have compiled a list of ways to keep yourself safe this Christmas, so that everyone can enjoy the festive season:

• Stay aware in busy public places – Simply being aware of your surroundings whilst in crowded areas can help you to avoid potential ASB.
• Plan safe travel routes – make sure to stick to well-lit areas and travel with others if possible. This will reduce your exposure to ASB hotspots which are likely to be poorly lit streets or late-night transport.
• Manage alcohol consumption – as we’ve discussed, alcohol can fuel a lot of Christmas time ASB. By managing your own limits, drinking water between alcoholic drinks and looking out for friends can reduce the risk of getting caught up in disorderly situations.
• Report ASB ASAP so local agencies can respond before behaviour escalates – If you see or experience ASB, make sure to:
  • Call 101 for non-emergencies
  • Dial 999 if you feel threatened or in danger
  • Report to local agencies like your housing provider and council
• Be considerate of others – even small gestures can help to prevent tensions from growing into ASB:
  • Keep music at a reasonable level
  • Let neighbours know if you are hosting a party or friends
  • Manage parking considerably

Rural vs suburban

It is often perceived that people who live in more rural areas feel more at ease from incidents of crime and ASB. However, in a think tank event at Lincoln in 2022 various delegates actually flipped this interpretation and cited that despite large gatherings of people and numerous drinking establishments being less common if not non-existent in villages, the very thought of an incident occurring was easily as stressful and in fact, to some (particularly those with vulnerabilities) was actually even more concerning.

Conclusion

So, we can see that with adequate design and collaborative considered planning, the impact of nighttime reduced visibility can be mitigated to some degree and can aid detection as well as reducing potentially harmful incidents to help restore/maintain public trust and confidence.

Incidents involving vulnerable people often include both ASB and criminal behaviour. These cases are usually complex and drawn out, with ASB often being the starting point and escalating over time into more serious crimes. This pattern is not often recognised and so each thematic/incident, is dealt with in isolation. As we have seen repeatedly over the decades, failure to recognise this leads to a perfect storm for incidents where serious harm, suicide or murder can tragically follow.

Over the years, cuts to public services have made it much harder to protect vulnerable people and respond effectively. This reduction in resources has made delivering this vital part of community safety far more difficult than it should be.

There are many more of course.

The truth is that anyone can develop vulnerability. Often, we can become vulnerable when we experience trauma, so in the case of ASB victims, this can occur at any time as we all have different capabilities to help us cope with harm. Generally speaking, the more we experience a traumatic event, the more likely we are to develop or harbour vulnerable attributes.

People often have more than one type of vulnerability, which can make everyday life challenging—even before they face issues like crime or anti-social behaviour.

In reality, not only are they more likely to be targeted by an offender, but they are also more likely to suffer a greater impact because of their vulnerabilities. It is also a very valid point that both offender and victim may have at least one of these factors as part of their profile.

Someone without these vulnerabilities is likely to be much less affected, both in how long the impact lasts and how serious it is.

This so-called impact ripple expands outwards from the victim, perpetrator and families to the wider community and also impacts on those engaged in dealing with the cases as they occur.

The impact of detrimental experience

As mentioned above, when someone is a victim of either crime or ASB, they can experience trauma. This can go on to cause problems; emotionally, mentally and physically.

It of course follows that those with pre-existing vulnerabilities, can suffer a greater serious, lasting effects from anti-social behaviour. This grossly affects their everyday lives and makes them progressively more likely to be targeted (perpetrators targeting the vulnerable sometimes ‘enjoy’ the repeated targeting of a particular person who may react adversely towards the offender as they may not be able to simply ignore or ‘brush off’ the incidents, which can become more frequent or severe over time).

Dr. Eric Berne wrote of the bent penny effect which is rather appropriate as a comparison in these cases to demonstrate the impact of ongoing persistent targeting of vulnerable people.

In ordinary circumstances, those without pre-existing vulnerabilities, if they are targeted with ASB are much more likely to simply deal with the (hypothetically) daily incidents as a matter of fact, and report them to the police, council and so on, then carry on with their daily lives.

The impact on them, in this case is comparatively lower.

Other impacts

It’s understandable that some vulnerable victims choose not to report what’s happened to them. This can be because they fear retaliation or feel embarrassed, but it can also be due to communication difficulties or worry that they won’t be taken seriously like other victims.

This means that the vulnerable person may choose to suffer in silence rather than draw attention to themselves. Of course, this can and often does make the situation worse as the perpetrator will feel they have free rein to persist in targeting the person and often this will also become increasingly severe in its nature.

Coupled with organisational dilemmas such as a lack of cohesive working relationships with partners, communication issues and lack of resources, it is clear to see that if left unchecked, the situation could spin out of control.

Learning from the past

In my nearly 40 years of working with community challenges, whenever something has gone badly wrong and people have been harmed, an internal or public enquiry usually follows. In each and every case, the organisation involved promises to learn from the mistakes that led to the incident and assures both the enquiry team and the public that things will change to keep people safer.

However, it is abundantly clear that despite these assurances, the problems, the harm, the murders, still keep occurring and so the two questions that need asking if we are to truly break the cycle are:

Why does this keep happening?

And

What can we do as a society, as organisations, as individuals to stop it and to truly provide for a safer community for everyone?

Risk management in ASB cases

Reducing the risk = reducing the harm.

How do we incorporate risk factors in ASB case management?

To some extent, this is discussed above but the simplest and potentially most effective way of doing this is to invest in networking with our most vulnerable people, getting to know them before they encounter such issues where they are targeted. Noting their risk factors and incorporating them into the tactical policing/community safety plan.

We need stronger connections with community partners and open, ongoing communication to ensure a joined-up, focused approach. This helps improve the care and support given to those most in need—people who are more likely to use services and be at risk of becoming victims.

By doing this, we are being pro-active in our planning, we are not merely reacting to the victim’s predicament when they have already been targeted. We are attempting to be ahead of the game. This could form a geographical outlay, a map of, for example, estates and individuals who are elderly and so on.

This improved approach shifts the focus from targeting offenders to identifying areas or individuals who are more likely to become victims—ideally before anything happens. It’s a proactive way of solving problems, similar to hotspot policing.

This approach should also be used for offenders who may have vulnerabilities too. By listening to their issues, understanding how it affects them, and connecting them to the right support, we can help prevent them from causing serious harm to those who are less able to cope.