Prevention
- Diversionary activities
- Environmental Improvements
- High Visibility Policing
- Intergenerational Projects
- Mediation
- Mentoring
- Neighbourhood Agreements/Neighbourhood Charters
- Neighbourhood Watch
- Restorative Justice
- Youth Shelters
Diversionary activities
Making sure that young people have activities they can easily access and which are appropriate for their age and particular needs can help to prevent and reduce anti-social behaviour.
Activities can help ensure that young people make constructive use of their leisure time rather than becoming involved in anti-social behaviour. This could include local authority youth work and drop-in clubs or voluntary activities run by parents and local community groups. Such youth clubs can play a valuable role in helping to set local standards of acceptable behaviour.
The diversionary activities could be sports, arts, educational, music, skate board parks, cyber cafe etc
To find out what is available in your local area, go to the Derbyshire Directory
Environmental Improvements
Changes to the environment such as the installation of gates, fencing, or barriers can help reduce anti-social behaviour by reducing access to areas or giving a clear indication to people as to where they should or should not be.
CCTV and street lighting are examples of improvements that can be made in order to increase the ability of people to view what is happening in an area. Thus making people think twice about their behaviour in that area and increasing the likelihood of being caught should they behave anti-socially or offend in that area.
High Visibility Policing
High visibility policing by police officers, police community support officers, neighbourhood wardens, rangers etc can act as an effective deterrent to reduce anti-social behaviour, as well as being a reassurance to the public.
Safer Neighbourhood Teams are being developed by the police and local authorities. The teams will work with local communities to identify and tackle the issues of local concern.
Intergenerational Projects
Intergenerational projects aim to bring generations together in meaningful activities. All generations benefit from engaging with each other on equal terms, breaking down barriers and challenging negative stereotypes. Older people can provide younger people with positive role models, both of being a good citizen and of active ageing. Young people represent a link to the future for older people.
Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process where an impartial third-party (a mediator) helps people come to an agreement to resolve a dispute – eg a neighbour dispute
Mentoring
Mentoring is a voluntary scheme which provides a one-to-one personal relationship that aims to examine, shape and change the attitudes and values of young people through positive adult contact.
It is a relationship based on trust that can have a positive impact on anti-social behaviour, academic performance, attitudes and behaviours in relationships with family and friends, self esteem and interpersonal skills.
Neighbourhood Agreements/Neighbourhood Charters
A neighbourhood agreement works like a contract and is negotiated between the residents on an estate and the council or other registered social landlords (housing associations or trusts). The Agreement will set out what people in a neighbourhood should expect from each other and from service providers. For example, this could include a commitment that people will recognise the varied views and cultures of their neighbours.
A neighbourhood agreement could cover any area, from a traditional housing estate of hundreds or thousands of homes, to a few streets or houses based around a small number of villages.
Neighbourhood Watch
Neighbourhood Watch is a partnership that enables local people to help make their communities safer by liaising with the police and other local agencies. It brings people together to protect themselves and their properties, to reduce the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour and improve their local environment. The existence of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme can deter certain criminal and anti-social behaviours.
For more information on Neighbourhood Watch in Derbyshire click here
Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice can be a way of helping young people, who have committed anti-social behaviour to better understand the concerns of the victim and the impact of their actions on society. This could include Direct Reparation to the victim by way of a verbal or written apology to the victim or Community Reparation by doing some ‘unpaid work’ for the community, such as removing graffiti, repairing damage to a play area etc.
Youth Shelters
Youth shelters are similar structures similar to ‘bus shelters' that provide an area for young people to congregate so that they do not cause nuisance to other members of the community (eg by hanging around outside the local shop). The location of the youth shelter is important to ensure that the needs of both young people and local residents are respected.
