Anti-Social Behaviour, widely abbreviated to ASB is any behaviour that can be criminal or not which causes a person or people in the community harassment, alarm and distress, is persistent and unreasonable and detrimental to other people’s lives.

ASB covers a wide range of issues which can go from relatively low level disturbance such as rowdy people walking down the street which may happen very infrequently or persistent and ongoing issues such as disputes with neighbours which could turn into further serious crime such as assault.

Anybody can be a victim or perpetrator of ASB within the local community so it is key as parents you know when your child goes out with their mates what they are up to within the locality.

What’s the harm?

Often, incidents of anti-social behaviour might seem minor and you may not recognise how it affects others but it can have a huge impact on others.  Anti-social behaviour often results in members of the community ending up not wanting to live in their home or being fearful of leaving it to go out in the area, especially those that are the most vulnerable such as the elderly or those with mental health problems or learning difficulties for example.

Dealing with problems like graffiti or damage to property are often expensive to fix and that’s another reason that the police and the council work closely together to tackle anti-social behaviour.  There are lots of potential consequences for you and your family if you involve yourself in anti-social behaviour – find out more about those here.

Greater Manchester Police have produced the video below which shows some of the impact of anti-social behaviour that you may not have considered.

Produced for Greater Manchester Police, Produced and Directed by Matt Barraclough, DP and FX by Tim Follin, Steadicam by Ben Gordon, Make up Leanne Cable, Music by Paul Davies 

If you’ve been a victim of anti-social behaviour (or any crime), you can get support from Got Your Back, Derbyshire’s specialist victim support service for young people.  Check their website out here for more information.