Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

What is anti-social behaviour?

Working to ensure everyone living in Adur and Worthing feels safe is about more than reducing crime. Anti-social behaviour can have a real impact on people's quality of life, which is why tackling it is one of the Safer Communities Partnership's key priorities.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 defines anti-social behaviour as:

  • conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person
  • conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person's occupation of residential premises, or
  • conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person

Examples of anti-social behaviour can include:

  • noise nuisance
  • verbal abuse
  • threatening behaviour
  • harassment and intimidation
  • harm to property or environment (eg vandalism, graffiti, abandoned cars)

The following are not generally considered to be examples of anti-social behaviour:

  • young people playing in parks
  • family or neighbour disputes
  • inconsiderate parking
  • disputes over property or boundaries
  • business activities associated with either commercial or private premises

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Report anti-social behaviour

Incidents of anti-social behaviour can be reported to either Sussex Police or Adur & Worthing Councils:

Report to Sussex Police:

If a crime is in progress or someone is in immediate danger, please call 999.

Non-urgent matters can be reported by calling 101 or online:

Report a crime - on the Sussex Police website

Report to Adur & Worthing Councils:

Note:

Anyone living, working or visiting Adur and Worthing can report an incident of anti-social behaviour to us online:

Report anti-social behaviour (online eform)

Or by calling: 01273 263356.

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Anti-social behaviour incident diary

In order for us to deal effectively with anti-social behaviour we need to have accurate and detailed information about where and when incidents are taking place, and who is involved. We recommend keeping a log of incidents. You can do this using the relevant form below:

Adur:

Worthing:

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What happens when you report anti-social behaviour to us

When you report anti-social behaviour to us, we will:

  • contact you within three working days
  • provide you with the details of who will be dealing with your complaint
  • record the details of your complaint and investigate to see if it's anti-social behaviour (as defined in our anti-social behaviour policy, see below)
  • discuss your options and agree actions with you
  • provide you and any witnesses with appropriate support
  • keep in touch with you by your preferred method (eg text, email, letter or phone)
  • treat the information you give us in line with GDPR (see our privacy statement)
  • ask for your feedback about how we handled your complaint

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Anti-social behaviour policy

To find out more about how we deal with anti-social behaviour please see:

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ASB Case Review (formerly 'Community Trigger')

The ASB Case Review is a process which enables you to ask the Safer Communities Partnership to review the response you have received to your reports.

An ASB Case Review gives victims and communities the right to request a review of their case and bring agencies together with an independent chairperson (a fresh pair of eyes) to look at the issues again, and see if anything further can be done.

You can use the ASB Case Review if you (as an individual) have reported at least three separate incidents to the council, police or a registered housing provider (social landlord) within the last six months, and believe insufficient action was taken.

The request must be made within six months of you having made a report.

What happens when you make a request

A decision will be made whether your request for an ASB Case Review meets the qualifying conditions. If it does, you will receive a letter of confirmation advising you of timescales involved and when the case review should be completed by.

If your request is accepted, the Safer Communities team will work with any other agencies involved in your case, and where possible, the meeting will be chaired by an independent chair, reviewing your original report(s), and what actions were taken by all agencies. If you wish, you can attend the first part of this meeting to present your case, or this can be made in writing or through a representative.

Following this review you will receive a report of the outcome explaining the action taken so far, along with any suggestions for further actions to be taken in order to try and resolve the matter. It may be that the review will conclude that agencies did everything that was possible.

If your request is not accepted, you will be told why. You can appeal this decision (see appeals below).

The ASB Case Review is not a complaints procedure.

It does not replace the complaints procedures of the individual organisations, or your opportunity to complain to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) or Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

You can request an ASB Case Review in one of the following ways:

Complete and return the form:

Call 01903 221127 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm)

email safer.communities@adur-worthing.gov.uk

Write to us:

  • Adur & Worthing Councils,
    Neighbourhood Office,
    Worthing Town Hall,
    Chapel Road,
    Worthing,
    West Sussex,
    BN11 1HA

You will need to provide the following information:

  • dates of each time you've made a report
  • who you made the report to (name, organisation and/or incident reference number)
  • details of the incident you reported
  • what happened when you reported

Appeals

You can appeal an ASB Case Review if you are dissatisfied with either:

  • The decision on whether your case met the threshold for a review: you may believe your application was wrongly declined, and a review should have taken place.
  • The way the case review was conducted: you may feel the process itself was flawed, or that the review failed to consider relevant information, policies, or legislation.

You must submit your appeal in writing within 21 days of receiving your Case Review request/outcome letter.

The appeal must be made to the Safer Communities Team at Adur & Worthing Councils.

We then notify the Police and Crime Commissioner's Office who conduct the appeal. The outcome is sent to us and the applicant.

Any further reports from you after the ASB Case Review or an Appeal have been concluded will be investigated in the usual way, as part of an ongoing case.

If you feel that any agencies' response to your reports is still lacking, you can make a request for another ASB Case Review when you have submitted at least three reports in the six months following the previous case review.

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Anti-social behaviour casework statistics

Adur & Worthing Councils are often asked, via Freedom of Information Requests, to share details of the volume of the number of cases we deal with and/or how we use the enforcement tools available to tackle anti-social behaviour.

We have collated a range of data that provides answers to the most commonly asked questions and requests for statistical current and historical data. We have collated the information below to show the number of:

  • Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) reports
  • Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs)
  • Community Protection Warnings (CPWs)
  • Community Protection Notices (CPNs)
  • Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs)
  • Multi-agency ASB Case Review (formerly 'Community Trigger')
  • Breaches and Enforcement/Penalties

Please see:

If you require any further information relating to this information, please email:

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Useful websites and links

See also:

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Page last updated: 10 October 2025

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