Agencies must work together to tackle yobs - Johnson

Powers are in place to tackle anti-social behaviour but police and other relevant agencies need to ensure they work together on the problem, the Home Secretary said today.

The head of the police inspectorate called earlier for urgent action from senior officers to improve understanding of the toll that such incidents take on communities.

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Denis O'Connor said the recording of information about harassment, criminal damage and verbal abuse was "inadequate" and must be improved immediately. Alan Johnson said mechanisms should be in place for action to be taken on such incidents reported on a continual basis - even if it was as trivial as sweet wrappers being pushed through letterboxes.

A snapshot survey by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) found officers did not turn up to almost one in four (23%) anti-social behaviour complaints and as a result almost all those victims were unhappy with police.

Researchers also found one in five repeat victims classed themselves as disabled in some way.

Speaking in Manchester where a 64-year-old man with learning difficulties died last night after was allegedly "tormented to death" by yobs for more than a decade, Mr Johnson said: "We have got all the powers in place to tackle anti-social behaviour.

"What we need to ensure is that all the agencies, not just the police, are working together."

He added he was encouraged that Mr O'Connor had said he was "uplifted" about the way the police were tackling "this serious issue".

"He does believe that they need to ensure they have got the mechanisms in place to know that if someone is reporting something that might seem quite trivial, like sweet papers pushed through letterboxes, that if it is happening continually it is a problem that needs to be tackled and that other agencies are able to flag that up as well," Mr Johnson said.

Mr Johnson said the HMIC research was not introduced to give police or politicians an "easy life" but for public accountability.

"Forces need to look at this to help in a constructive way to show they can improve and for the public to visibly see where the problems are.

"Independent monitoring is a crucial part of getting our response to anti-social behaviour absolutely right everywhere, not just in one force but in all of the 43 forces."

Mr O'Connor said more than half of the 43 forces in England and Wales cannot automatically identify repeat victims, leaving officers in ignorance of some of the most vulnerable people who need help.

Around 3.6 million reports of antisocial behaviour were made in 2008-9, compared with 4.6 million crimes, but officials believe the true figure could be twice as high.

Mr O'Connor said police may need to radically rethink their approach because most victims do not distinguish between anti-social behaviour and crime.

He said people wanted their home to be a safe place, adding: "Even if it is not brilliant, it is their home. If they cannot go home in peace imagine how unnerving it is."

The death of Fiona Pilkington threw the spotlight on shortcomings in how police and other authorities respond to cases where vulnerable people are constantly tormented by yobs.

She committed suicide and killed her severely disabled 18-year-old daughter Francecca after gangs kept them prisoners in their home in Barwell, near Hinckley in Leicestershire.

Mr O'Connor said anti-social behaviour is a deeply-troubling issue for the public but there is no agreed framework among police forces on how best to record and deal with it.

He said: "An awful lot of police forces have real problems. There is a lot of it, a lot of it is under-reported and there is a problem with nailing the intelligence around it."

Officials at HMIC have begun further research to draw up a framework to assess the performance of police forces in tackling anti-social behaviour.

West Mercia Assistant Chief Constable Simon Edens, the national lead on tackling anti-social behaviour, said officers must work closely with councils, housing providers and parents.

He said: "Chief officers recognise that what people want most for the community in which they live is to feel safe in the homes they live in, and on the streets they walk."

Mr Johnson, who was in Manchester to launch the National Border Targeting Centre, said he could not comment on the individual case of David Askew who died at his home in Hattersley, Manchester, following reports of youths causing an "annoyance" at the address.
Neighbours said Mr Askew was a victim of regular harassment and that police were warned he was targeted.