Practice review 1: Reporting, recording and investigating Presentation Neil Denton, Community Safety Officer, Newcastle City Council Caron Storey, Housing and Anti-Social Behaviour Enforcement Team, Your Homes Newcastle

Please imagine you are floating along in a hot air balloon

Suddenly the balloon begins to drop from the sky – there is too much in it!

You need to decide what to get rid of….and quickly! Please cross out 7 items from your balloon

Still Falling!!! Get rid of another 7

Still Falling!!! Get rid of another 6

How much more can you take!!! Get rid of another 5

Phew! You’re safe Was it harder to get rid of things towards the end? Why do you think that is? The loss of things impacts people differently

Balloon and attachment Those things that form our identity are very valuable to us – we are very “attached” to them In general terms, we are affected more if those things we value most are threatened This is why hate crime – racism and homophobia have such a severe impact

Hate incidents - lessons to learn Nuisance? Annoyance? Alarm? Distress? Harassment? Confidence to report Partnership working Transparent and action focussed Quality controlled Proportionate not preferential

ARCH - Reporting and Case Management Web based – to report in person or by phone Referral to organisations that can help – logged and linked to Service Level Agreement Case Management system to improve communication and accountability Case monitoring and dip sampling to increase level and quality of actions….and how well agencies work together (using real cases and not just warm words)

Types of Anti Social Behaviour (Service Standards) 1 Day 5 Day 10 Day Harassment Noise Animals Hate Alcohol Rubbish Drugs Vehicle Communal Violence Other Crime Maintain Threats to Staff

Preparing staff -Interview the Victim Use ‘one page’ handouts from staff intranet Keep accurate records Dates & times Duration of incident & what happened? Who said what? Any witnesses? Have there been any previous incidents? Any other agencies involved? Refer to Victim Support? What impact has the incident had on the victim? In-put information onto Northgate IT system

Keep accurate records Keep interview impersonal Stick to the point Maintain witness confidentiality Keep calm & repeat your message if necessary Give a specified period to improve behaviour Is Mediation appropriate? Interviewing the perpetrator

Accessible service Introduced a 24 hr reporting line Linked to Night Watch service On-line incident diaries Surgeries in the neighbourhoods Officers meet Victims at location of their choice On-line resident perception survey Dictaphones and translation of key documents

Key issues Give regular feedback to victim – be open and honest, not just fill in diaries Assess the case – what are the main issues? All new allegations/incidents must be raised with perpetrators early Determine individual complaints – ‘what’s fair in the circumstances of the case’ Don’t stereotype – judge the complaint not the complainant- eg. Young people can be victims too! Remember the role of the victim and perpetrator can change during the course of the investigation

Progress and improvements Multi-agency working Tenant satisfaction Low eviction rate Improved inspection results Corporate memory……… – Standardised responses, operational guidance ………Idiot proof?

Tricky Issues Consistency of use and application Report date is day 1 Realistic expectations Feedback to victim When is closure closure? Maintaining dialogue whilst challenging behaviour