Inside Housing - Government shifts responsibility for ASB

2 November 2010 | By Rhiannon Bury

Communities and local agencies should take the lead in tackling anti-social behaviour, the minister responsible for crime prevention has said.

Speaking at the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group conference in Birmingham today, James Brokenshire said the government wants to shift accountability from national to local level.

‘The problems of anti-social behaviour haven’t gone away, and the system routinely fails the most vulnerable,’ he said.

‘The government wants to see a shift, a new approach that gets rid of diktats and bureaucracy and sees professionals and communities join forces to beat the problem.’

He said communities would be given the tools and powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, but that they also need to recognise their role in tackling the problem.

‘We want tools that are restorative, to nip bad behaviour in the bud. Even in difficult times tackling anti-social behaviour must be core business for all of us,’ he said.

Sarah Webb, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said the speech was about the political agenda.

She said: ‘I don’t think the biggest problem we are all facing is not knowing what local communities want.’