Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress and is of a persistent and serious nature.

Anti-social behaviour ranges from serious acts of violence and harassment to more everyday incidents and situations like noisy dogs or overgrown gardens. It includes general nuisance and different types of conduct or activities that cause interference and annoyance in the community.

Examples of this are:

• Incidents of violence including verbal and physical abuse and threats.
• Vandalism, graffiti and damage to property.
• Noise nuisance at high levels or unreasonable hours.
• Racial and other kinds of harassment are motivated by someone's age, disability, faith or sexual orientation.
• Domestic violence.
• Criminal activity including burglary, drug dealing or using premises for unlawful purposes; and
• Other nuisance like dumping rubbish, dog fouling, uncontrolled pets, dangerous parking and abandoned cars.

The solutions to these problems do not come from a single agency or organisation working alone. Residents and tenants, communities and individuals, local authorities, the police, social services, schools, businesses and many other groups have a responsibility to tackle anti-social behaviour.

You can report anti-social behaviour or tell us about graffiti.