Our ASB Policy is reviewed and updated every two years, most recently in 2023. The policy has a section on partnership working, detailing our commitment to work alongside the police when crimes have been committed and to contribute to multi-agency approaches which are needed to address the causes of many issues.
You can read our policy and approach to tackling ASB here >>
The handling of hate incidents is covered in our Anti-social Behaviour Policy. We investigate all allegations of hate incidents, taking the view that if the person reporting the incident believes it was motivated by hate (e.g. discrimination) then it will be treated by us in that way.
We report hate incidents and hate crimes to the police and co-operate in their investigations. Our office locations in Manchester and Tameside are listed as hate crime recording centres.
Customers, including non-tenants, can report ASB to us through a wide range of channels: phone, email, website, in person at our offices, via a third party or advocate. Front-line staff receive training to recognize reports of ASB.
Our website has a translation facility and we use an interpretation service to enable tenants who do not speak English to communicate with us.
We take a structured approach to ASB case management with review dates and updates to customers built into our system to ensure tenants feel we keep in touch with them.
Our ASB Policy sets out the actions that our Neighbourhood Safety Teams may take in response to reports of ASB.
All reports of ASB are subject to a triage assessment to establish seriousness. In the more serious cases, we will make contact with the complainant on the day of report. Case action plans are drawn up by our officers in agreement with the person reporting the incident.
All cases are investigated and many will be resolved with a warning to the person responsible for the incident. We may make use of mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods where both parties agree to participate. Serious and urgent cases may result in no notice injunctions being obtained at court. We will seek possession orders and ultimately evictions where the ASB is serious and continuing.
We publish our performance on tackling ASB in our Tenants Annual Report. You can read it here>>
At the outset of a case, and during our work on the case, the vulnerability of both the complainant and the reported party are assessed. This assessment is used to point the individual towards support services that Jigsaw provides or provided by our partners – eg money advice, domestic violence support, hoarding support, tenancy sustainment.
Cases are assigned to an individual officer who manages the case and provides a point of contact for the people affected. We also have a duty officer scheme to enable tenants with urgent issues to speak to a Neighbourhood Safety Officer on any working day.
Our Neighbourhood Safety Teams are trained to implement our Safeguarding Policy should they suspect anyone affected by ASB is a victim of abuse.
