We are continuously getting feedback from our customers and fixing things that are identified. This report explores reports of antisocial behaviour and how we can improve our responses. Below are some things we have identified and our actions to improve.
What you said
- I am unhappy about my neighbour’s behaviour and want to know what I can do.
- I made a complaint about my neighbour and you have still not taken action.
- You are not listening to me or showing empathy towards the situation that I am reporting.
- It is taking too long for you take action following my anti-social behaviour report.
- You are not keeping me informed about what is happening.
What we found
- You sometimes believe that you have made a formal complaint when you have made a report about your neighbour’s behaviour and you are not always aware that we manage these differently.
- You do not always know how long it might take for us to take action, particularly when we need to ask you to collect evidence or we need to involve other agencies, such as the police.
- Our website provides information about reporting anti-social behaviour but if you make a report directly using the online form you do not always know what might happen next.
- You are less happy with the outcomes of your case when you feel that we are not communicating enough with you.
- We have not always been able to reassure you that the action we are taking is right.
- We could be clearer with you about any formal action that we might need to take to respond to your reports, such as involving other agencies or taking court action.
- We could take a more flexible approach to how we deliver our services.
What have we done?
- Developed a ‘solve an issue’ tool on our website to guide you through whether your report is something we can help with and to let you know how you can try to resolve the issue and keep a record of events.
- Introduced an Anti-social Behaviour Customer Service Standard.
- Established a dedicated ‘ASB and Enforcement Team’ to manage and support our handling of all amber and red anti-social behaviour cases.
- Improved our support arrangements by appointing the same contact to you for the duration of your anti-social behaviour case.
- Strengthened our capacity to focus on a range of options to resolve the situation you are reporting by placing these within the ASB and Enforcement Team.
- Provided information on our website about the difference between making a report about a neighbour and a formal complaint about our handling of anti-social behaviour.
- Delivered training to colleagues about our customer service offer and taking a flexible approach.
We will:
If you need to contact us to make an anti-social behaviour report we will:
- Assess your report against our ASB and Hate Crime Policy and Procedure.
- Formally record your report and allocate an officer to your case.
- Assess your risk with you.
- Agree an action plan with you, taking into account your support needs.
- Keep in regular contact with you, as agreed with your action plan.
- Interview all relevant parties as part of our investigation.
- Encourage you to report any new incidents to LiveWest and support you in making reports to other agencies, such as the Police.
- Hold case review meetings with relevant colleagues on a trigger basis at any point during your case.
- Explain the formal action that we might need to take if we are unable to resolve your situation directly.
- Ask you to confirm your commitment to supporting us with witness statements if we need to prepare a case for legal action.
- Visit or call you to agree closure before we close your case.
If we need to raise an anti-social behaviour case during your complaint we will:
• Explain how your complaint will be investigated alongside the anti-social behaviour case.
• Agree communication arrangements with you for the duration of your complaint.
• Let you know if we will need to continue to manage an anti-social behaviour case when we close your complaint and let you know expected timeframes.
• Continue to track the actions agreed with you after we have closed your complaint.