Nottingham has received sometimes unfair coverage in the media over its crime problems. City council leader, Cllr Jon Collins, shows how it has been vigorously tackling anti-social behaviour Nottingham City Council was already making great strides in tackling anti-social behaviour when we launched our pioneering Respect for Nottingham initiative to redouble our efforts in 2003, ahead of the Government’s Respect action plan. As the debate rages about possible Home Office carrots and sticks for authorities’ performances in the ASB stakes, we’re preparing to step up to deliver the second phase of Respect for Nottingham, to continue to make Nottingham a cleaner and safer place. We’ll be introducing new work-streams to work with young people to prevent anti-social behaviour, tackle alcohol-related disorder and address housing-related ASB. A new initiative to prioritise close working with the most challenging and disaffected families in Nottingham who are at risk of offending will be implemented through a combination of enforcement, reparation and support. ‘Our’ Respect campaign – a partnership between the city council, the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership, Nottinghamshire Police and other key local agencies – was established during the 2003 election campaign, when Nottingham residents told us that they wanted us to take serious action to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour in our city. We’re proud of our successes to date. An independent anti-social behaviour survey shows the number of Nottingham city residents affected by anti-social behaviour fell from 73% in March 2004 to 35% in September 2005. We’ve reduced begging by 85%, and achieved an 80% reduction in street prostitution – arresting 434 kerb-crawlers in the process. We’ve recruited 40 more community protection officers, who have issued at least 2,300 fixed-penalty notices. Nottingham’s streets are getting cleaner – with our latest best value performance indicator grade standing at 11%, improved from 17% last year and exceeding our local public service agreement target of 15%. We’ve seen a 32% increase in convictions for class A drug supply, and yes, in 2005, we secured 111 anti-social behaviour orders. We’re not shy of taking tough enforcement action, but it’s combined with supportive prevention strategies to tackle the root causes of anti-social behaviour. We look at prevention, engagement and warning stages, before progressing to a court application, ASBO or committal, and finally, further action such as breach proceedings and in certain cases, ‘naming and shaming’. At every stage, partnership agencies work together to offer the support people need to make positive lifestyle choices, when they need it. That said, our community and neighbourhood protection service has worked with Nottinghamshire Police to gain full accreditation, so all new enforcement powers are available to it, and actively seeks ways of applying any new legislation. Like our colleagues in councils across the country, we are intrigued to discover what measures the Home Office might introduce to monitor performance in the fight against ASB. Is the number of anti-social behaviour orders obtained by councils a reliable performance indicator? Not if they are considered in isolation. The context surrounding an ASBO must be taken into account, with full consideration to whether robust prevention and support systems are in place to underpin enforcement action. Respect for Nottingham’s own performance is managed through weekly hotspot tasking meetings, bringing together all partners to identify the perpetrators of ASB and enabling them to take a comprehensive approach to issues on a city-wide, local and individual level. Each action undergoes scrutiny to ensure that tackling anti-social behaviour remains at the top of our agenda. Ultimately, our best performance indicator is a change in our residents’ perceptions. When the people of Nottingham report a visible reduction in anti-social behaviour, we will know we are making a difference – and that’s what matters. w Cllr Jon Collins is leader of Nottingham City Council,
