Peterborough Community Trigger

Introduction

If you are unsatisfied with how agencies such as the Police, Council or a Registered Social Landlord has dealt with your complaints of anti-social behaviour, you may be eligible to request a review of your case under the Community Trigger.

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 brought in a new, additional measure for people who have been the victims of repeated anti-social behaviour (ASB). The Community Trigger makes it easier for a victim or someone acting on their behalf to ask all the agencies involved in their case to review what action they took, or could have taken, if they are not satisfied with the original outcome.

The Community Trigger is not a platform for making complaints about specific individuals who may have had an input on a case. Complaints of this nature should be made through the relevant agency’s formal complaints procedure.

Application criteria

There is a threshold which will have to be met before carrying out a full case review. A case review application should meet the following criteria:

• The investigation into the ASB case has been completed
• The anti-social behaviour was reported within one month of the alleged behaviour taking place
• There have been three reports of ASB in the last 6 months
• Applications can also be made by a business or by a third party on behalf of a victim
• If it has been an ASB problem affecting a number of people in a community, a minimum of five incidents in the last 6 months and the applicant has the name and addresses of those five victims
• The ASB incidents have all been reported to an agency

Process

On receipt of the completed application form, we will review the application to see if it meets the criteria. At this stage you may be contacted to provide additional details. You will then receive a letter telling you either:

It does meet the threshold

The details of your application will then be sent to all relevant agencies that were involved in your case and each asked to provide information on their investigations what action they took. The group

will then look at the outcomes and if there are actions that could still reasonably be taken, then you will be informed and kept up to date with progress.

It doesn’t meet the threshold

If your application does not meet the threshold, we will advise you of the reasons. Please note you will still be provided with advice based on your circumstances.

The Safer Peterborough Partnership consists of Peterborough City Council, Police, Health, some Registered Social Landlords and other agencies. We work together to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime and we will share information. If we conduct a case review, any agencies involved in that investigation will be asked to account for their actions.

The Police & Crime Commissioner also has an independent role in the legislation to oversee and report on how many applications and cases are carried out.

Stages and timescales

The table below shows the stages of the Community Trigger process and the timescales of when you will receive updates from us.

Stage 1 - Acknowledge and assess

On receipt of your Community Trigger application we will check to see if it meets the Threshold Test and notify you of the outcome and next steps.

Timescale = within 3 working days.

Stage 2 - Analyse

We will take your concerns seriously by referring it to a multi-agency case review group that looks at all the local anti-social behaviour issues in Peterborough.

We will look at the:

• Persistency
• Harm or potential harm caused to you
• The adequacy of the response

We will look to see what action has been done and what can/could have be done. If we believe that appropriate action has been taken, you will be told and the Community Trigger closed.

Timescale = Within the next 10 working days.

Stage 3 - Action

If we identify that a course of action can be taken, we will create an action plan about what can be done next. This will be shared with you and the actions carried out.

Timescale = This will be done within the next 20 working days of the above meeting taking place. The action plan will then form part of our regular meeting agenda to monitor progress.

Stage 4 - Appeal

If you remain unhappy with our response, then you can appeal and we will refer your case to an appeal panel who will look at the case review.

Timescale = This will be done within 20 days of your appeal.

Appeals

At the conclusion of the Community Trigger process you will be sent a letter outlining the decision. If you don’t accept the outcome you will be given details of how you can appeal. The appeal will be carried out by senior representatives in the Safer Peterborough Partnership.

How to apply

You can request a review of your anti-social behaviour case either in person, over the phone, in writing or by email.

You can request a review by completing this form and emailing it to antisocialbehaviour@peterborough.gov.uk.

If you would like to request a review in person, please call the Safer Peterborough Partnership team on 01733 747474 and we can arrange an appointment.

If you would like to make your request over the phone, please call 01733 747474 and ask for the Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator or a member of the ASB team who will be able to take your details.

If you would like to apply in writing, you can either print this form or call and request that we print this off and post it to you.

Contact the Anti-social Behaviour Co-ordinator

The single point of contact for all Community Trigger applications for Peterborough is the Anti-social Behaviour Co-ordinator.

You can get in touch by email to antisocialbehaviour@peterborough.gov.uk or by calling 01733 863853 or by post to:

Prevention & Enforcement Service,
Peterborough City Council,
Sand Martin House,
Fletton Quays,
Peterborough
PE2 8TY

Safer Peterborough Partnership Community Trigger ASB Case Review data

The table below shows the number of Community Trigger ASB Case Review applications the Safer Peterborough Partnership has received and the resulting actions.

*Some cases may not meet the threshold and although the formal procedures are not invoked, the relevant bodies may review the case to determine whether there is more that can be done which may result in recommendations being made.