Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a priority for many community safety partnerships in London. ASB is also one of the three priority areas of focus for the London Crime Reduction Board this year. Boroughs have consistently raised the point that a sizable proportion of their ASB cases have a mental health dimension. Preventing and tackling ASB, and supporting people with mental health needs are two important areas of work for local authorities and their partners. Reducing crime and improving community safety are critical to London local government’s role in building and sustaining safe and prosperous communities. A key element of this is preventing and tackling ASB.
London Councils conducted a survey of all heads of community safety in the 32 London local authorities and the City of London exploring the issues and challenges around mental health and ASB, finding out what practical responses are delivering results on the ground and listening to what the professionals feel they need to improve work in this area in the future. Seventeen boroughs responded, of which 15 completed the survey. Data from the 15 boroughs that returned survey responses are used in this report.
Following a brief introduction to each section in this report, the relevant responses from the survey are presented. Examples of borough practice are then presented where available, followed by suggestions from borough heads of community safety for ways forward. The recommendations of this report are largely drawn from these suggestions.
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