Skip to content
Broken window icon

Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

Find out what anti-social behaviour is, how to report it and what happens when you report it to our team.

Reporting criminal behaviour

All criminal behaviour should be reported to the police. This includes drug use and drug dealing, threats, violence and harassment. If there is an emergency or  someone is at immediate risk, call 999.

The non-emergency number is 101 or you can report criminal behaviour online.

About anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) covers a wide range of unacceptable activity that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to an individual from another household or to the community, or harm to the environment. In some instances, it can leave victims feeling helpless, desperate and with a lower quality of life.

If you are experiencing anti-social behaviour, you could try to talk to the person responsible. They may not realise that their actions are affecting you. Only do this if you feel safe and comfortable. If you are not able to resolve the problem by talking to the person, you can report it to us.

You can report many different types of ASB, including:

  • graffiti and flyposting (sticking advertising posters on walls and other public property)
  • litter, including drug-related equipment
  • fly-tipping (dumping rubbish on the street, pavements or green areas)
  • nuisance, rowdy or inconsiderate neighbours
  • persistent dog barking or uncontrolled animals.

If you want to report a noise nuisance, visit our make a noise complaint page.

Some anti-social behaviour should be reported to the police. This includes:

  • abuse, intimidation or harassment 
  • drug use and drug dealing   
  • misuse of airguns  
  • inappropriate use of fireworks  
  • aggressive begging 
  • vandalism.

Reporting anti-social behaviour

It is important to report anti-social behaviour. Reports will be help us understand the problem, build up evidence and take action.

You can choose to report ASB anonymously, this may affect the action we can take, and we will not be able to update you on any outcomes.

We prefer you to report ASB in an online form so you can give us as much information as you have and we can make sure your report goes to the right team as soon as possible.

Report ASB

You can also contact us by phone on 020 7527 7272.

Housing Association properties

If you live in an estate owned by a Housing Association, or Registered Social Landlord, you should contact them to report anti-social behaviour. If it is an emergency or criminal behaviour, you should call the police.

What we will do

  1. All reported ASB is recorded on our system and given a reference number. In all cases, we try to get back to you within two working days to give you general advice or guidance.
  2. We may refer you to another organisation or person who can help you with your issue, like a housing provider or the police.
  3. Where further investigation is needed, we will allocate to a case officer, who will deal with your case and work with you to develop an action plan to tackle the ASB.

In many cases we will use solutions that stop the behaviour happening again and support the people involved in the reported activities.

If the anti-social behaviour continues and it is persistent and significant, we may take some of the following actions: 

  • getting a court order, which bans the person responsible from doing certain things 
  • working with the police to prosecute the person responsible or to give them a fine
  • if the person is a council tenant, issue them with a tenancy warning.

Legally, we need evidence to support these actions, but we will do all that we can to ensure everyone can live peacefully and safely in our borough. 

Request a review of an anti-social behaviour case (Community Trigger) 

It is your right to ask how your report of ASB is being dealt with. This is known as the Community Trigger process.  

You can request a Community Trigger if:

  • you have made up to three reports of anti-social behaviour in the last six months, and
  • the last report must be made within one month of the incident happening.

Find out how to request a review of an anti-social behaviour report you have made.

What is not anti-social behaviour

The behaviours below are officially recognised as not being ASB. We would not investigate these unless there is evidence that the behaviour is deliberately intended to cause damage, intimidate or is taking place at an unreasonable hour of the night or early morning:  

  • children playing in the street or communal areas  
  • young people gathering socially  
  • being unable to park outside your own home 
  • DIY and off-road car repairs  
  • a clash of lifestyles including cultural differences or different working patterns 
  • a one-off party or event 
  • general living noise.

Organisations that provide help and support if you have experienced anti-social behaviour

If you need some independent advice or support, see the 'related information' section at the bottom of the page.

Was this information helpful?



Data protection: We will handle your personal information in line with the Data Protection Act 1998 and in accordance with the council’s Fair Processing Notice.