What can you do if you are experiencing Anti-Social Behaviour?

Before you report anti-social behaviour, you must first decide whether there is anything you can do to sort out the problem yourself.  

If the problem is not too serious, talking to the person involved and making them aware that they are causing a nuisance can sometimes be enough to stop the problem.  It is possible that the person simply doesn’t realise that what they are doing is disturbing you.  When made aware that they are causing a problem, they may be willing to change their behaviour so that the problem stops. 

Here are some useful tips to bear in mind when talking to the person causing the problem:

• Try to stay calm and friendly - being aggressive is not going to help
• Explain what the problem is, how you feel and how it affects you
• Listen to the other person and try not to interrupt them when they are talking - better results can be achieved if people listen as well as talk
• Try not to shout, even if the other person does!  Try to stay in control and not be abusive
• Having listened to each other’s views, try to reach an agreement
• If the person is being unreasonable – leave the discussion  

If the problem continues once you have tried speaking to the person responsible, OR if the problem is so serious that you don’t want to confront them, you should report it to the appropriate agency for further help. Visit our page on how to report anti-social behaviour