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Chapter Eight: Epilogue
8.1 The majority of the research fieldwork upon which this report was based was completed in the second half of 2006. Because of the rapidly evolving nature of the antisocial behaviour strategies and in order to enable this report to provide as contemporary a picture as possible, this annex provides an update on developments in the four case study local authorities since January 2007. The update is based upon telephone interviews with senior local authority officers who have a responsibility for antisocial behaviour strategies which were conducted in August and September 2007. The updates are presented for each of the respective local authorities and provide information about further developments, new initiatives and emerging issues and priorities.
City of Edinburgh
8.2 During the second half of 2006 the City of Edinburgh Council implemented a fundamental change in the structural organisation and delivery of its antisocial behaviour services. These reforms have sought to devolve the delivery of the antisocial behaviour strategy to the neighbourhood level. Six neighbourhood teams have been established, whose boundaries are generally similar to those of the city's parliamentary constituencies. This reorganisation has resulted in teams comprising an increased number of re-trained officers from a range of service department backgrounds, and now include environmental wardens and community safety concierges. These teams have replaced the previous organisational structure of a centralised specialist investigation team supported by housing response teams in a hotspot approach. The new expanded neighbourhood teams have specific responsibility for their geographical areas.
8.3 As the City of Edinburgh's antisocial behaviour strategy has developed, teamwork has been enhanced and operational co-ordination has improved. Council-funded additional police officers are now co-located and tasked jointly with community safety teams to undertake specific deployments and activities in the 6 neighbourhoods. A monthly co-ordination and operational planning review is held by neighbourhood managers and the relevant Chief Inspector of police, based on analysis of local data on victims, perpetrators and the sites of antisocial behaviour. This has resulted in a more unified and coordinated multi-agency response to antisocial behaviour at both strategic and daily practice levels.
8.4 There is evidence of progress in tackling antisocial behaviour in Edinburgh. The Outcome Agreement target of reducing incidents of antisocial behaviour involving young people in Youth Action Team areas by 1.5 percent has been exceeded, with an actual reduction of 4 percent. In addition, the average period for resolving antisocial behaviour complaints was 46 days compared to a target of 63 days and represents a 27 percent reduction in the average length of time required to resolve a complaint. 98 percent of noise complaints are responded to within one hour. The Council reported that their expanded 24-hour noise nuisance service has been subject to a positive, Scottish Executive- commissioned evaluation by DTZ Consulting, which is particularly important given that tackling complaints about noise-related antisocial behaviour is a key pillar of the City of Edinburgh's antisocial behaviour strategy.
8.5 The City of Edinburgh Council and its partners are currently considering how the positive impact of the antisocial behaviour strategy can be demonstrated to residents in order to provide reassurance that the strategy has resulted in reductions in antisocial behaviour and improved service response. The Council-commissioned fear of crime survey (unpublished) continues to show a gap between residents' perceptions of the level of antisocial behaviour in their own neighbourhood compared to recorded incidents and also that many residents continue to compare their own neighbourhoods unfavourably with a more positive perception of levels of antisocial behaviour in the city as a whole.
8.6 The Council and its partners are continuing to explore how specific initiatives such as the Early Intervention Families Project may be mainstreamed and how funding may be maintained to ensure that the current levels of service provision are sustained in the future. Continuous improvement in the tasking and coordination of Council and Police resources is a high priority in meeting the aims of the antisocial behaviour strategy.
Fife
8.7 A Best Value Review of Community Safety was undertaken in Fife in 2006 resulted in a new management structure for the Community Safety Partnership in order to facilitate the use of the National Intelligence policing model. There are now four strategic task groups overseen by a Community Safety Strategy Group and Management Group. This has helped to provide a robust structure for linking service managers to strategic decision-making and for ensuring that appropriate mechanisms for problem-solving are in place.
8.8 Analysis based on the Home Office Vulnerable Localities Index method was utilised and adapted to produce an Antisocial Behaviour Profile for Fife at the end of 2006. This profile provided a 30 month average of where antisocial behaviour was concentrated, using both specific antisocial behaviour indicators and more generic deprivation measures. This profiling, combined with previous experience of interventions in specific localities, led to a review of operations and deployment. On the basis of this exercise, a decision was taken in April 2007 to target the Templehall area of Kirkcaldy for a minimum period of six months to a year. This work is driven through a monthly multi-agency tasking meeting and includes responding to ongoing antisocial behaviour using specific antisocial behaviour measures and the targeted deployment of police officers and community wardens. Problem profiles have also been developed to inform longer term action on issues such as alcohol and related disorder.
8.9 A Community Safety Operations Manager was appointed in 2006 to oversee Fife's community wardens service. This has resulted in the wardens being more robustly linked to the strategic tasking process, and has facilitated the move towards a Fife-wide wardens service. The manager also oversees the day to day operations of Fife's Safer Neighbourhoods Team including the team's deployment to Templehall. This approach aims to create strong linkages between front line staff and the antisocial behaviour strategy by working with existing local staff, networks and community forums to identify and address locally-defined problems. This has also resulted in closer working between agencies at the local level, with increased membership of local tasking groups involving all the key local agencies and organisations and the enhanced involvement of divisional police officers. Information sharing protocols have been further developed and all key agencies are now signed up to these. There has also been a general increase in the number of local agency staff working to address antisocial behaviour.
8.10 There are on-going reviews of antisocial behaviour interventions and funding, including identifying the resources and contributions being made by the full range of stakeholder organisations and agencies. An independent review of the community wardens service commissioned by Fife Council has developed potential models for sustaining and rolling out the service across other localities in Fife.
8.11 Youth related antisocial behaviour has become a priority issue. As the antisocial behaviour strategy has developed in Fife a review of youth justice processes has led to the development of a joint protocol for the tiered response to juvenile offending in Fife. A number of local Youth Justice partners are now working together. This restructuring has resulted in a multi-agency group of representatives from the council, police, the Children's Reporter, Safer Neighbourhoods Team and SACRO meeting twice a week to discuss cases involving young people and to ensure that early intervention is linked to appropriate referrals and disposals and that agencies provide any necessary support.
North Lanarkshire
8.12 North Lanarkshire Council is continuing a process of departmental restructuring in order to enhance the co-ordination of antisocial behaviour services. This includes bringing environmental services, the night noise service and wardens together in one tier of management. The longer term aim is to achieve an amalgamation of all Council enforcement services into one management unit. This will facilitate a more subtle tasking and coordination of services and responses to antisocial behaviour, and will ensure the effective collation of reporting information.
8.13 The Council is currently discussing introducing an analytical team to facilitate the introduction of the National Intelligence Model of policing. This would build on the existing joint tasking and coordinating committee, enable easy access to information, and would strengthen tactical assessments and the identification of areas where antisocial behaviour is a concern. The analytical team would also aim to integrate Council responses to antisocial behaviour with those of partner agencies including the police, the Fire Service and voluntary organisations.
8.14 Partnership working has continued to improve in North Lanarkshire, for example through the joint tasking and coordination committee which can identify areas experiencing antisocial behaviour and synchronise the deployment of police officers, wardens, CCTV and other services. Information is being exchanged between agencies more efficiently and openly, and some of the previous barriers to partnership working - such as the identification of gaps in service provision amongst individual agencies - are being removed. It is anticipated that the Council's new citizens panels will form a robust mechanism to draw local residents into the processes of both identifying and influencing responses to antisocial behaviour in local neighbourhoods.
8.15 North Lanarkshire Council is conducting a sustainability review of all its antisocial behaviour services. This is partly driven by the recognition that many of its high profile services (such as wardens and the Antisocial Behaviour Task Force) are entirely or predominately reliant on time-limited external (Scottish Executive) funding. Whilst the sustainability review will consider rationalisation, it will be difficult to mainstream these services entirely. The Council's aim is to ensure the retention of the skills and experience of staff that have been built up, and to continue to meet the raised expectations of residents.
8.16 North Lanarkshire Council and its partners are continuing to review the evidence base that is utilised in evaluating the impact of antisocial behaviour interventions. There is some concern that existing performance indicators and resident perception surveys, whilst having a role to play, are not fully capturing actual changes in the extent and types of antisocial behaviour and agency responses that are occurring within neighbourhoods in the local authority area. Narrative accounts of what the Council and others are actually doing to tackle antisocial behaviour are therefore important.
Scottish Borders
8.17 The Scottish Borders Anti Social Behaviour Strategy Group has continued to evolve into a very strong forum with a widened membership, including two private landlord representatives, and is often attended by over 20 individuals. Smaller working groups have been established to take forward specific elements of the strategy, including a policy and procedures working group and a group to oversee the production and dissemination of a multi-agency policy and procedures manual. The working group has reviewed its strategy aims and outcomes and is also reviewing its response to anticipated changes in funding structures, although key posts and services, such as mediation are already core funded by Scottish Borders Council. The strategy group is also reviewing its future organisation of services, including the management of the Antisocial Behaviour Unit and wardens.
8.18 The Council has funded a bespoke antisocial behaviour training package, comprising 25 days of training and a concluding seminar in November 2007, which is being developed by the Housing Quality Network. The training package will involve all relevant Council services departments, the police, registered social landlords and community and voluntary organisations. Two key features of the package are its multi-agency approach, which includes specific sections for different agencies, different tiers of management, and its development as a tool that can be used for the induction of future staff, rather than being limited to existing staff members.
8.19 The Anti Social Behaviour Unit has undertaken an evaluation of antisocial behaviour interventions in the Scottish Borders, including analysis of ASBOs and ABCs. The first report based on this evaluation is currently in production.
8.20 The Scottish Borders Council is supporting a series of 'Cool Down Crew' project interventions with identified high schools in the local authority area. These projects involve the Fire and Rescue Service engaging with young people on issues of fire safety and antisocial behaviour. The Council is also working with the police on delivering training on youth inclusion issues based upon the VOMO (Voice of My Own) DVD which enables young people to have their voice heard through the use of digital media.
8.21 The Anti Social Behaviour Strategy Group is working closely with Children's Services and Strategic Youth Justice Group to review processes for youth ASBOs. This is based on early intervention with young people who have been identified as being at risk of becoming involved in more serious forms of antisocial behaviour. The new working practices are aimed at reconciling the various legislation relating to young people and antisocial behaviour and recognising the need for different processes to be developed for adult and youth ASBOs.
8.22 The Council has established a new Antisocial Behaviour Field Development Worker post which is primarily responsible for undertaking investigative work and developing education programmes in relation to Anti Social Behaviour. The Council is also funding additional legal support to speed up the ASBO process.
Chapter Summary
8.23 This epilogue is based on interviews with representatives of the four case study local authorities, and the views presented here have not been subject to further investigation or validation by the research team. However a number of common themes do emerge from the progress updates presented here. Antisocial behaviour strategies and interventions have been subject to review and revision by local authorities and their partners. Restructuring and reorganisation have occurred, allied to new strategic and operational processes. These have been aimed at addressing some of the role clarification, synergy and communication issues identified during the research. These changes have also been accompanied by an increasingly sophisticated analysis of antisocial behaviour problems and the implementation of targeted and holistic solutions in certain neighbourhoods. Progress appears to have been made in expanding the range of agencies and individual staff members involved in addressing antisocial behaviour and improving the training provided to them, as well as developing more robust mechanisms for local residents to become actively engaged in antisocial behaviour strategies. A number of new initiatives have also been introduced, particularly targeted at prevention work with young people.
8.24 The main issue still facing local authorities and their partners is that of mainstreaming services and in ensuring that funding is found to ensure that the increased levels of intervention and the establishment of new initiatives continue in the longer term as the strategies evolve further. The four local authorities are continuing to develop mechanisms for reviewing the effectiveness of their antisocial behaviour strategies and one area for further development is ensuring that innovative methods and research at the individual local authority level is disseminated more widely across Scotland.
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