What is antisocial behaviour?

What does antisocial behaviour mean?

Antisocial behaviour (ASB) can mean different things to different people. It does not have a single definition.

To help us decide whether we can investigate something as ASB, we use this definition from the Reading Community Safety Partnership:

“Behaviour causing damage, disturbance, distress, harm or fear which has a significant impact on people’s lifestyles, routines or their environment. Persistence, intensity and the number of incidents involved are relevant factors. The behaviour need not be a breach of the criminal law.”

We also use the legal definition from the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 when taking action in housing cases:

“Conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person.”

Types of antisocial behaviour we deal with

We have experience helping people with issues like:

noise nuisance (for Reading Borough Council tenants)
neighbour disputes
verbal abuse
threats or intimidation
harassment
vandalism or criminal damage

Even if something feels small to begin with, it can become a long-term problem. Some antisocial behaviour may not be a crime at first, but it may become criminal later.

We can help even if the police are not involved. You do not have to deal with it alone. We can give you advice and support to take the next steps.

Area-based antisocial behaviour

Sometimes antisocial behaviour affects whole areas, not just individuals.

This includes things like:

groups causing problems in public spaces, estates or neighbourhoods
damage to shared areas like parks, shops or public buildings
repeated issues in a hotspot area (a location where ASB often happens)
places where the design of the area encourages ASB or crime
drug dealing or drug use in public places
street begging and related behaviour
unauthorised gypsy or traveller sites on council land – find out how to report this

Our safer public realm team looks at each case individually. We give a fair and consistent response to everyone.