COMMUNITY TRIGGER

Purpose

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced the Community Trigger.Themeasuregives victims of anti-social behaviour the right to request a review of their case and, where the case meets a locally defined threshold, to bring agencies together to take a joined up, problem-solving approach to find a solution.

Process

When a request to use the CommunityTrigger is received, agencies must decide whether the threshold has been met and communicate this to the victim.Where the threshold is met, a case review will be undertaken by the relevant partner agencies. Agencies will share information related to the case, review what action has previously been taken and decide whether additional actions are possible.

The local Community Trigger procedure should clearly state the timescales in which the review will be undertaken. The review encourages a problem-solving approach aimed at dealing with some of the most persistent, complex cases of anti-social behaviour and ensures that the victimis informed of the outcome of the review. Where further actions are necessary an action plan will be discussed with the victim, including timescales.

Who can use the Community Trigger?

  • A victim of anti-social behaviour or another person acting on behalf of the victim such as a carer or family member, Member of Parliament or councillor.
  • The victim can be an individual, a business or a community group.

Relevant bodies and responsible authorities

‘Relevant bodies’ are those organisations which have a statutory duty to have a Community Trigger procedure and to undertake case reviews when a person asks for one (and the threshold is met). The relevant bodies are:

  • councils;
  • police forces;
  • clinical commissioning groups in England, local health boards in Wales; and
  • social housing providers who are co-opted into the group.

Role of Police and Crime Commissioners

The local Police and Crime Commissioner must be consulted on the Community Trigger procedure when it is set up and must be consulted whenever the procedure is reviewed. Arrangements may be made for the Police and Crime Commissioner to be directly involved in the Community Trigger, for example, providing a route for victims to query the decision on whether the threshold was met or the way in which a Community Trigger review was carried out.

Threshold

The relevant bodies should work together to agree an appropriate Community Trigger threshold, taking into consideration the nature of anti-social behaviour experienced by victims in their area and the working practices of the agencies involved.

The threshold must be no higher than three complaints of anti-social behaviour in a six months period. Where a person makes an application for a case review and the number of qualifying complaints has been made, the threshold for a review is met.

In any other situation, in setting the threshold, reference may be had to any of the following matters:

  • the persistence of the anti-social behaviour;
  • the harm or potential harm caused by the anti-social behaviour;
  • the adequacy of the response from agencies.

The Trigger does not replace the complaints procedures of individual, organisations, or opportunity to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman or Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Guidance

Further information on the Community Trigger is available within the Home Office statutory guidance on Gov.UK about the anti-social behaviour powers:

FAQs

Q. Why do we need a community trigger?

  • The range of local agencies involved in tackling anti-social behaviour can lead to uncertainty as to whose responsibility it is to deal with a particular problem.
  • As a result, victims can sometimes find themselves being passed from the police to the council to their landlord and back again, or reporting the same problem over and over again.
  • The community trigger will give victims and communities the right to require agencies to deal with persistent anti-social behaviour, and will place a new duty on agencies to take action and deal with the issues.

Q. It is rare for victims to report the first incident of anti-social behaviour, they endure persistent anti-social behaviour before contacting agencies. How is this taken into account?

  • The potential for harm to the victim will be included in the threshold for the community trigger. This will mean that agencies will assess the vulnerability of every victim who wants to use the community trigger.
  • Agencies assess the risk and vulnerability of the victim to help determine what action needs to be taken. This will include the nature of the anti-social behaviour, the frequency or length of time it has been going on, as well as the circumstances and needs of the victim.

Q. Why do victims have to wait for certain number of times before they’re taken seriously?

  • All reports of anti-social behaviour should be taken seriously – agencies should respond to every report quickly, and many do. But the community trigger is intended to give victims of persistent anti-social behaviour the right to demand action where they feel their problems have not been dealt with.

Q. Can my councillor or MP activate the community trigger on my behalf?

  • Yes. The trigger can be activated by any third party. This could be a carer, neighbour or family member, but could equally be a councillor or MP.

Q. The community trigger will only be used by those who shout the loudest or the ‘usual complainers’.

  • This is not the case, the experience of the community trigger trials showed that the majority of triggers were people who had a genuine problem and which had not been resolved, not people seeking to use the trigger as a means to complain about agencies.
  • Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress; the Community Trigger cannot be used to complain about behaviour which is a general nuisance such as inconsiderate parking.
  • Agencies will be able to reject triggers that are malicious, vexatious or frivolous.

Q. Does the Community Trigger risk overlooking those who have reported a single instance of anti-social behaviour, but do so when at their 'wits end'?

  • We do not want agencies to wait until someone uses the trigger before their complaints are taken seriously; agencies should respond to every complaint of anti-social behaviour quickly and effectively.

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