The Devastation that can be caused by Anti Social Behaviour
The Devastation that can be caused by Anti Social
Behaviour
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It is extremely distressing to see in the news that a mother
killed herself and her daughter due to the stress and anxiety
regarding her daughters future and ongoing anti social
behaviour. Unable to cope with the continued persecution from
local youths, Miss Pilkington, 38, set fire to her car which killed
herself and her 18 year old daughter.
It should be noted that there are
legal solutions available to deal with such anti social
behaviour. Last year, the Welsh Assembly Government
published The Wales Housing Management Standard for Tackling
Anti-Social Behaviour. This provides comprehensive guidance
to social landlords and other key agencies on how to effectively
deal with ASB. This guidance helps organisations to direct their
resources and efforts to devise robust measures for resolving all
levels of anti-social behaviour. It recognises that in addition to
the best efforts of individual organisations, partnership working
and effective multi-agency intervention remain crucial.
The key to making sure a tragedy
like this is never repeated is for all individuals concerned to be
properly trained and equipped to deal effectively with situations
as they arise. This training and support must cover the time from
when the first complaint is received up until a resolution. This in
itself can only be achieved by sufficient resource allocation and a
continued commitment on behalf of the local authorities, social
landlords and the police to work together to identify and combat
these problems.
One of the saddest factors of this
case was that it was said that no one appreciated the extent of the
family's vulnerability and that Ms Pilkington felt that all hope
was lost. It is understood that to her, the only way to
escape the misery inflicted upon her was to take her and her
daughters life. To prevent such a tragedy happening, effective
implementation of the Standard, coupled with proper use of the
appropriate anti social behaviour remedies and criminal law in
serious cases, is vital.
The Hugh James specialist Anti
Social Behaviour Unit have been involved in a significant
number of cases where the Police and other agencies have
worked effectively with housing associations in tackling
anti-social behaviour which has made a huge difference to the
quality of the lives of people living in our communities.
Hopefully the perpetrators of
anti-social behaviour, as well as people who target and victimise
other members of their estates and / or communities will look at
this case and stop and think about the pain that their behavior can
cause other people. Likewise parents of unruly youths and
children will take some responsibility for such behaviour.
The aim should always be to deal
with the issues before they spiral out of control.
There must also be accountability
for such behaviour and the misery it causes to peoples lives.
At the end of the day, everyone has a responsibility for supporting
each other in their own communities to ensure they all have
somebody to turn to in times of need.