ASB Case Review (formerly known as Community Trigger)

What is an ASB case review?

The anti social behaviour (ASB) case review allows victims and communities to request a formal review if they feel their ASB complaint was ignored or poorly handled and the problem persists.

The ASB case review process does not replace the council’s corporate complaints process and is not the mechanism for making a complaint about a service failure. You can however still make a complaint

The process is designed to make sure agencies work together to fix situations of repeated anti-social behaviour. The ASB case review ultimately helps us and you by making sure that no one experiencing this type of behaviour is left unsupported. The process is designed to make sure that everything that can be done is being done.

If the threshold is met (see below), all the agencies that you have reported the incident to, will be invited to attend the case review meeting. Together, they will review the incidents that you have reported and look at the initial response that you received from the agencies about the incident. During the case review it will be decided if the response given to you was satisfactory or if there was something that had been missed in the report or perhaps if there was something that could have been done further at the time.

If it is decided that the responses you received were unsatisfactory, then a new action plan will be agreed upon between the agencies involved.

What is the threshold for an ASB case review to be accepted?

To be accepted for an ASB case review you must have made 3 or more reports of ASB within 6 months of the first incident being reported, where you believe there has either been an unsatisfactory response or no response at all. Each incident must have been reported within a month of the first incident occurring to one of the following:

• the council's safer communities team
• the council's noise and nuisance team
• the MET Police
• your housing provider

Each incident reported must relate to the same behaviour, nuisance, or individual(s).

To qualify for an ASB case review, your experience must meet the following criteria:

• have made an initial report to an agency within 1 month of that incident having taken place - the agencies include Ealing Council's safer communities team or noise and nuisance team, the MET Police or your housing provider
• have 3 reports that have taken place within 6 months of the first initial report you made - they could be any report to any of the agencies mentioned above, and they must all relate to the same individual(s)
• have reference numbers - after you make a report to any agency, you should have been given a reference number for that report; you are required to provide all of the reference numbers you have received when reporting the incidents
• have received an unsatisfactory response from the agency you reported to, or no response at all, or have received a response after the expected time frame lapsed for that agency, for all 3 incidents that you are reporting
• still be experiencing ongoing anti-social behaviour from the individual(s) that you are reporting; so you believe that there are still actions that the agencies should take to resolve your issues

Any individual, business, or community group (or a representative with written consent) can request to activate the ASB case review. 

An anonymous reporter cannot request to activate the ASB case review. Anonymous reports do not meet the threshold.

The locally determined threshold has been defined by the Anti-social behaviour, Crime, and Policing Act 2014, citing that each local authority will determine the threshold upon which a case can be considered. Any submission of an ASB case review must fulfill the requirements of the threshold.

The ASB case review provides an important opportunity for victims to request a review where the repeat incidents of ASB have been reported to the necessary agencies, the ASB continues and there has not been a satisfactory outcome. This process should be used if you believe your complaint has not been adequately responded to.

Who attends the ASB case review?

ASB case reviews are completely confidential. Sensitive information discussed during the review will only be shared with the agencies that are relevant to the review. Only relevant information will be shared amongst professionals; the individual(s) you reported will never be contacted to be informed of the ASB case review taking place.

If you are working with an agency that is representing your case at the time of the ASB case review, an invitation will be extended to them.

You have the option to attend the beginning of the ASB case review. We will arrange to contact you so we can talk you through the process of what to expect from the meeting. You are free to ask any questions you may have about the ASB case review procedure.

If you decide to attend the ASB case review, you will be provided with 10 minutes at the beginning of the review to discuss the contents of your referral and share your thoughts and feelings on the reasons you have activated the ASB case review. You will then be asked to leave the room.

During these 10 minutes, you will be asked to provide a victim statement. Here are some good topics to talk about during this time:

• how long you have been having issues with the individual(s) you are reporting against
• how the ongoing issues have affected your physical/mental/psychological health
• go into greater detail about the contents of the referral if you feel like there is anything you would like to add
• any other incidents that you feel may be relevant to the ASB shown by the individual(s) you are reporting against

Or you can write us a victim impact statement for us to read out to the other agencies during the ASB case review meeting if you would prefer not to attend the meeting.

What is the process for an ASB case review?

Please note that all referrals received for an ASB case review are reviewed on the first Thursday of every month.

The actual ASB case review meeting will always be scheduled to take place on the third Thursday of every month, unless told otherwise.

After making an application for an ASB case review, it will follow this general process

Annual report on ASB case reviews