Harrow's chief policeman Simon Ovens on anti-social behaviour and how you can stamp it out

Being a Neighbourhood Champion is an extremely important role and has my full support. We currently have just over one thousand Neighbourhood Champions in Harrow and are always looking to recruit more. Being a Neighbourhood Champion is done on a volunteer basis, with their main role being to inform us and the local council of low level street problems such as noise, fly tipping, graffiti and defective street lighting. I was delighted to have shared good news stories with the champions and outline our current objectives to ensure we remain on track to become the safest borough in London.

If you are interested in becoming a Neighbourhood Champion on your street then please apply online at neighbourhoodchampions@harrow.gov.uk or call 0208 9012 666.

What is anti-social behaviour?

The term anti-social behaviour (ASB) covers a wide range of unacceptable activity that blights the lives of many people on a daily basis. It often leaves victims feeling helpless, desperate and with a seriously reduced quality of life. Terms such as ‘nuisance’, ‘disorder’ and ‘harassment’ are also often used to describe this type of behaviour.

ASB is defined as “behaviour by a person which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the person”.

(Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 & Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011).

The MPS classifies ASB under three headings as 'personal', 'nuisance' and 'environmental' in line with the national standard for incident recording. These can then be given one of 13 qualifiers as in the list below:

ASB Category

Personal - The ASB is perceived to be targeted at an individual or group rather than the community at large.

Nuisance - The ASB is causing trouble, annoyance or suffering to the community at large rather than an individual or group.

Environmental - The incident is not aimed at an individual or group but targets the wider environment, e.g. public spaces or buildings.

Why is tackling ASB important?

ASB is a key driver for public confidence in the police. Failure to tackle ASB leads to increased crime, especially violence with injury and criminal damage, both of which feature in the seven key neighbourhood crimes identified in the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime Policing and Crime Plan 2013 to 2016.

If you need to report any ASB matters to the police then call 101 or in an emergency 999. You can also make contact with your local neighbourhood policing team.

Good work by my officers

On 21 March, a 28 year old man was arrested for burglary and assault on police. He was wanted for a burglary committed in Harrow last August and assaulting a police officer in West London in 2012. He had been evading his capture since these dates. Officers from my wanted offenders management unit gained intelligence that he was now living with his girlfriend in Cambridgeshire. These officers tracked him down and he has now been charged.