Anti Social Behaviour and CANAcT

Anti social behaviour is defined as;

• "Acting in a manner that causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as themselves" (Crime and Disorder Act 1998)
• "Conduct causing or likely to cause a nuisance or annoyance to a person residing, visiting or otherwise engaged in a lawful activity in the locality" (Housing Act 1996)

Who are CANAcT?

CANAcT are the Crime And Nuisance Action Team who were formed in 2001 in the light of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, with a specific remit to address issues of anti social behaviour within the community.

What we do

We are an investigative team who aim to prevent anti social behaviour by:

• actively tackling anti-social behaviour;
• offering support to families and witnesses;
• providing links with other agencies in tackling crime and nuisance behaviour.

Prevention

We work with a variety of organisations to help prevent anti-social behaviour including:

• Thames Valley Police,
  
• Local schools,
  
• Mediation services,
  
• Youth services,
  
• Youth offending service,
  
• Social services,
  
• Fire and rescue,
  
• Mental health teams,
  
• Multiple needs teams like Elmore,
  
• Housing associations.

We also helped to develop the Positive Activities for Young People programme.

Enforcement

We have achieved successes in enforcement, including Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs), Anti-social Behaviour Injunctions (ASBIs) and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs), and also contributed to possession actions working with housing providers.

We recognise that enforcement action is not always the best course of action, and that other solutions, through early intervention, are often the most effective.

Page last reviewed 17 Jan 2011