The report looks at the underlying causes of problem behaviour. An assessment is made of the costs and benefits accruing from the projects, their effectiveness, and the lessons that can be learned from them. The researchers explore the types of intervention that can be used to enable existing accommodation to be maintained, including outreach support in dispersed tenancies and intensive support in core residential accommodation. The three most common types of ASB are identified as youth nuisance, more general neighbourhood conflicts and disputes, and property damage.

The government’s strategy for tackling ASB involves tackling the underlying causes of problem behaviour and using appropriate sanctions to protect the wider community from the effects of ASB. This evaluation is concerned with the former of the two strategies. It follows the progress of six pioneering local authorities in the North West of England which, working with housing associations and charities, established dedicated ASB family support projects.

The study was undertaken over a two year period. A mapping exercise was carried out to identify projects which were dealing solely with intensive support for ASB; the six identified all agreed to take part. The following areas were profiled in each project: location; partnership agencies; basis of support and capacity; profile of families referred; staffing; and main referral agencies.

The study makes a significant contribution to the bank of knowledge available on the underlying causes of ASB, highlighting the complex and multi-faceted support needs of affected families. Mental health, drug abuse and physical/sexual/mental abuse issues were found to be very common. The perpetrators of ASB were also found to often be victims of it. The six projects received varying degrees of local support, control and resistance. Securing long-term funding was a challenge for every project. All six had positive outcomes for the families involved, and gave excellent value for money.

Communities and Local Government

01/10/2006

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Judy Nixon, Caroline Hunter and Sadie Parr (Sheffield Hallam University), Stephen Myers (University of Salford), Sue Whittle (CRESR, SHU) and Diana Sanderson (Mill Mount Consulting)

research

Urban Policy > Security & crime prevention > Anti-crime policy

Anti-social behaviour & vandalism