What is anti-social behaviour?

What is anti-social behaviour?
The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) defined anti-social behaviour as 'acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household [as the defendant]'.

Some examples of anti-social behaviour are:

• Aggressive and threatening behaviour
• Intimidation and/or harassment by others
• Verbal abuse (intentional or unintentional)
• Damage to property
• Inconsiderate disposal of household rubbish
• Fly-tipping (illegal dumping of rubbish)
• Inconsiderate parking of vehicles
• Abandoned vehicles
• Noise nuisance
• Nuisance caused by drug dealing or drug taking
• Graffiti
• Nuisance caused by pets
• Fouling of public areas
• Racial harassment
• Youths congregating in an intimidating way

Why does it happen?
There are a variety of factors which increase the risk of anti-social behaviour. The more of these which are present, the more likely someone is to become involved in anti-social behaviour.

Parenting - Poor parenting skills, a weak parent/child relationship and a family history of problem behaviour.
School - Truancy, exclusion and unchallenged bad behaviour.
Community life - Living in deprived areas with disorder and neglect, lack of community spirit, living in areas with an already high-level of anti-social behaviour.
Individual factors - Drug and alcohol abuse, alienation and early involvement in anti-social behaviour.

There are a range of supportive interventions available which can help individuals and/or their parents and families change their own behaviour and enable them to tackle some of the underlying problems.