Supporting Victims and Witnesses Of Anti-Social Behaviour
We understand anti-social behaviour can be extremely stressful
and that witnesses need to be supported through this stressful
time, particularly where anti-social behaviour is such that legal
action is required and witnesses need to attend court and give
evidence.
Witnesses can be supported both emotionally and practically
through this time depending on their individual experience. Each
person will experience anti-social behaviour differently and need
different types of support.
The impact upon an individual will not always be proportionate
to the anti-social behaviour being committed and when you speak to
a member of our team they will ask you a range of questions – they
will do this as sensitively as possible but if you can answer these
openly then it will allow us to give you the most appropriate
support.
Keeping you updated
You can expect to be updated regularly about your case as it is
progressing and have access to a named person who you can contact
directly to discuss your case. We will contact you within 48
hours of you contacting us to tell you who this person
is.
In return, we also need you to keep us updated of incidents of
anti-social behaviour so that the necessary action can be taken.
This is usually done by completing diary sheets. We have a Keeping
Incident Diary Sheets leaflet available for more information.
Cases involving the use of, or threatened, use of violence
We would always recommend that in cases involving the use of, or
threatened use of violence that you also contact the police as this
may be a criminal offence that should be dealt with.
However, we may be able to provide advice about providing
further security to your home and in some cases we can support with
a range of interventions such as loan of CCTV camera, door alarms
or fence spikes.
If you are a tenant of a registered social landlord, in extreme
circumstances they may be able to move you either on a temporary or
permanent basis to another home.
Talking about how you feel
We have a process whereby an anti-social behaviour officer will
ask you about your circumstances and the anti-social behaviour you
are experiencing. In some cases, you will be referred to Victim
Support who are able to support you while a resolution to the
problems is sought. In other circumstances, you will have a case
manager who will be available to talk to you as needed within
office hours.
Cases requiring court action
Most cases are resolved without the need for court action, but
sometimes it is necessary to use a legal remedy in order to curb
the anti-social behaviour. What is needed for all court action is
evidence of the anti-social behaviour, so that a court can consider
the case.
You may be asked to come to court and give evidence. If you
agree to do this, you will be referred to the Witness Support
Service who will allocate someone to support you through this
process.
They will explain to you what will happen when you go to court,
take you to court beforehand so that you can look around, stay with
you whilst you are in court and talk to you about how you feel
after the appearance.
You can, of course, refuse to come to court and give evidence
and we understand the reasons why you may not want to do this.
However, it will affect the overall case and how it can be dealt
with.
When a case is resolved
We recognise that the affects of anti-social behaviour do not
always cease when the anti-social behaviour does and that witnesses
may need support for a time afterwards in order to be able to move
on with their lives again. This is particularly the case when
there is a need for court action. Please talk to your named
officer about how you are feeling and extra support that you might
value.
Tips for victims of anti-social behaviour on Facebook
Block the person harassing
you - Go to their profile page on the left hand side at
the bottom. Here you’ll find this link: Report/block this
person. If you block someone, they will not be able to
find you in a Facebook search, see your profile, or interact with
you through Facebook channels (such as Wall posts, Poke, etc.)
Change your Facebook privacy
setting - A person can create a new profile and try to
reconnect or, if your privacy settings are poor, observe what you
are doing. Go to Account – Privacy settings then
click “friends only” option. If you do not want anyone to be able
to find you by searching Facebook, then go to the bottom of the
page to Applications/websites. Click on the link.
Go to the public search at the bottom and click Edit
settings. Untick the enable public search
box.
Delete inappropriate comments on your
wall - If someone puts an inappropriate comment on
your wall use the delete link that is on every comment box. Do not
put messages on your Facebook that another person will get upset
about. Even if that person cannot read your wall, friends can tell
the person the things you say.
Do not accept people you don’t know as
a Facebook friend - People that harass others often make
up fake profiles to try and get their victims, or friends of their
victims, to add them. Do not accept people that you do not
know.
For more advice on online harassment go to
http://www.e-victims.org/