More timely action is needed to help victims of anti-social behaviour, a Kemp Town resident told councillors.
Liberal Democrat activist Robert Brown, who lives in Kemptown ward and has stood for election in the area, spoke out at a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting last week.
Mr Brown asked Labour councillor Gill Williams, the council’s cabinet member for housing, for something to be done to help victims of anti-social behaviour who have to wait more than a year for resolutions.
At the meeting of the full council at Hove Town Hall on Thursday (18 December), Mr Brown said: “Anti-social behaviour continues to rise across Kemptown ward, with victims now having to wait over a year before action is taken and relief is given.
“Many of these perpetrators are (council) tenants. So it seems as if (the council) are not following their own advice on their own policy.
“Victims dealing with (the council) are met with indifference, delays, non-response from council officers and a lack of support.
“It is felt that the perpetrators are given leniency at every step and victims are feeling let down by (the council) as they are continually asked to do the work of the council themselves, risking additional anti-social behaviour towards them.”
Mr Brown said that he was prompted to ask about anti-social behaviour after supporting residents with dozens of reports since January.
He was frustrated by the lack of response from either Sussex Police or the council and said that one of his biggest frustrations was being told that there was “not enough evidence” without knowing what “enough” is.
He has also encountered cases where residents have put themselves at risk of retaliation by submitting photographs and videos, only to be told they need to resubmit them.
Speaking outside the meeting, he said: “One of the key things is I want the council to look at anti-social behaviour policy again.
“It’s not currently working for residents and triggers. Failure of council officers to respond and they’re not logging reports properly.”
Councillor Williams said that the council recognises the impact of anti-social behaviour on victims and communities and has a commitment to improve the response.
She said: “I am sorry to hear that victims of anti-social behaviour are reporting that they are experiencing an unsatisfactory response from officers.
“We are committed to improving support and communication and we’ve invested quite a lot in our frontline tenancy services.
“We hold regular multi-agency meetings to co-ordinate action and reduce reliance on victims gathering evidence which I do appreciate is very difficult and can be alarming.”
National court delays have contributed to the long waits experienced by some residents, Councillor Williams said, adding: “We do not give leniency to perpetrators.
“Each case is assessed on risk and harm and we work closely with Sussex Police and partners to take proportionate lawful action.”
The council currently has a People Overview and Scrutiny Committee task and finish group which is reviewing all anti-social behaviour responses and is working with tenants to improve its “sensitive lets” policy.
Issues in Kemptown ward include drug dealing and sex parties in Ardingly Court, a housing block for the over-55s and an attack on a resident in Hampshire Court.
The last quarterly housing management report – for July to September – said that there were 207 anti-social behaviour cases opened and 198 closed by the council. The average time to close a case was 182 days.
One eviction was carried out as a result of anti-social behaviour.
ASB is getting worse, BHCC doesn’t care, the councillors don’t care and it”s managers lie and cover up its extent and the effect it has on its tenants
Care to evidence any of that?
If you want some evidence of an awful case – this is the fire one I mentioned: https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/25092251.residents-brighton-flats-targeted-arson-speak/
The article says a woman “was arrested on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life at the scene”. It also makes clear at least one resident “repeatedly warned the city council about antisocial behaviour issues at the block, but nothing was done”.
Have you considered that with an aging population, we’ve just got far to many whinging old people to maintain a lifestyle for?
It’s not just court delays though is it, the council regularly ignore information residents share with them, things get nowhere near a court. It was only earlier this year that someone set fire to a council property after neighbours had reported the threats of arson to the council. Why weren’t the reports taken seriously and why weren’t the reports raised with the police at the time or subject to a ‘multi-agency meeting’.
Residents reporting incidents like this and having them ignored and not acted upon by officers leaves residents at risk. Cllr Williams needs to make sure the housing team are not overstretched and they have adequate resources so they can review reports, clock important alarm bells (like threats of setting things on fire!) and escalate them. An under-resourced housing team means things will get missed -what’s Cllr Williams doing to increase resources within the housing team.
I think you touch upon a real need; certainly one we’ve seen in our area – for an independent Oversight Board. Sworn in with some NDA, such a board could be used to test the process and legitimately challenge weaknesses. I also think some more intense usage of interim methods, like CPWs and CPNs are important. They are not legal in nature, so don’t require the same threshold, and would support tackling ASB early, whilst also evidencing the required proportionality and reasonability tests required by any legal route.
It’s called a 3 stage complaints process for a reason.
First complaint takes about 18 months . By which time there hoping your give up.
2nd stage takes another 18 months . Depending on your circumstances you have probably exhausted yourself and others around you are sick of hearing about it .
3rd stage your probably not around any longer . So who ever was looking after you will have to reapply. See above for 1st stage.
By 5 pm there out the door having a blast .
Bear in mind what ever you say will be used against you and twisted.
There is an office dedicated to this department
I think that “office” is in Wetherspoons, Mon – Fri 5 pm to 7pm
Incorrect, it’s a two stage process.
Stage 1, that investigates the complaint with 28 days (or more if it’s complicated).
Stage 2, that investigates that Stage 1 was done correctly, also within 28 days.
You don’t need to reapply after a period of time.
Brighton & Hove’s complaints process typically has three stages for council services: Stage 1 (Service Level) involves the team you’re complaining about; Stage 2 (Escalation) moves to a senior manager if unresolved; and Stage 3 (Formal/Panel), the final stage, often involves an independent review panel (like a Standards Committee for councillors) to hear the case, culminating in a decision and potential escalation to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) if still unsatisfied, with timelines aiming for resolution within 10-20 working days at earlier stages and a final panel hearing within 30 days of request for Stage 3, ensuring independence and fairness.
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/feedback-about-council-services/how-make-complaint
If you’re referring to Stage 3 as contacting the Ombudsman, then yes that’s the third step, but that is seperate to the council’s process, which is just Stage 1 & 2.
That’s why I copied and pasted it .
Except you did not. You clearly relied on another source without reading it yourself.
Don’t wrestle a pig
As your both get dirty and the pig loves it
A particularly bizarre and strange thing to say, Rupert.
At least residents in the east of the city have functioning tenant’s associations and a reporter who regularly attends.
If you are a council tenant outside an estate, you have no rep, no meetings and very little voice. Housing really is the weak link in the Council, not helped by a useless Councillor responsible.
I think the big thing with the east area is that the TRAs work together and regularly talk to each other, which does make a big difference. And Williams? Nah, she’s actually one of the most approachable councillors who clearly does it for the betterment of the city, rather than any personal agenda my experience of her, anyway.