RedGage

I wrote the following paper whilst studying Human Geography at Sheffield Hallam University (2004 – 2007). I have decided to share my work on HubPages as back when I wrote it I found that aside from actual literature deep within the Uni library I couldn’t find a great deal of online help without having to pay for it. Therefore whilst I'm happy for you to read through and reference my work if you like but I must remind you that many Universities use Meta-Lib - so don’t copy! I hope that you find this useful, please don’t hesitate to ask any questions, or let me know if you think I'm wrong with a comment.

The subject "Anti-social behaviour" is one, which has a limited amount of work on how to effectively define and measure the actual actions which are perceived to be examples of the term. It is very important therefore to produce a clear understanding of the concept in order to be able to investigate the subject efficiently.

The Home Office in recent years has made anti-social behaviour a high priority something which could be considered a "trade mark" of New Labour (Burnley E., 2005) approaches with methods such as the launch of the "Anti-social Behaviour Unit" (ASBU) which has introduced highly controversial crime reduction techniques such as the ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) and ABC (Anti-social Behaviour Contract) as an attempt to kerb anti social behaviour. These methods have been adopted as this is a matter which has proved to be of great public concern, with the British Crime Survey (2004) showing over a quarter of people perceiving certain forms of behaviour a problem in their neighbourhood (British Crime Survey, 2004). They have based their efforts to address this issue using the original base definition from the Crime and Disorder Act (1998), which defines anti-social behaviour as: "Acting in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as (the defendant)." (Harradine S. et.al. 2004)

This definition of the term is clearly general providing a broad scope for actions which could be perceived as anti-social Burnley (2005) highlights this issue referring to the term as a "Hydra-headed monster" that refers to a spectrum of bad behaviour, from the serious to merely irritating, afflicting neighbourhoods (Burnley E., 2005). This highlights a widely held view with this concept; anti social behaviour, even with amendments made in 2003 which includes examples such as Local troublemakers, intimidating groups, Abandoned cars, Graffiti and Vandalism (Office of Public Sector Information, 2003) the term still lacks a local focus, this means that people can have a frequently misunderstood idea of what types of actions the term can include,  plus this definition does not account for local examples of anti-social behaviour and the fact that what counts as anti-social behaviour can change over time. This is a view supported by Dr Simon Bale who indicates that what might be considered anti-social in one setting may be regarded differently elsewhere, stating "For generations youths have hung around on street corners, without necessarily causing trouble, now it is seen as a bad thing", showing how definitions of the term can change over time (Dr. Bale S., 2002). It is also important to note as Armitage (2006) of NACRO, a crime reduction charity, highlights: “Although anti-social behaviour is undesirable and unpleasant, it is not always criminal" (Armitage R. NACRO, 2006)

NACRO suggests in its 2006 annual review that the best way to overcome the misunderstandings of anti-social behaviour is that local authorities should adopt their own statutory definitions of the term in consultation with the local people (Armitage R. NACRO, 2006).

This is a concept which could have a number of benefits when trying to understand anti-social, for example it would provide a contemporary definition which would meet the needs of the public's perceived concerns of today.

The village of Rawmarsh which I chose to base my research upon lies within the borough of Rotherham. The council of Rotherham and more specifically the division with the responsibility of dealing with anti-social behaviour entitled "Rotherham 2010" has placed a major focus upon the tackling of this issue. Along with this they have highlighted the fact that there are many different views of what anti-social behaviour actually is, as a result they have devised their own definition of anti-social behaviour, which is: "Behaviour which is capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to any person"(2010 Rotherham, 2006)

As with the Home Office definition it is a very broad definition however it has been divided into three main parts which are:

Neighbour Problems: Such as problems between neighbours including noise, verbal abuse, boundary disputes, harassment or intimidation.

Neighbourhood Problems: There are problems which typically concern younger people living in the neighbourhood for example graffiti, off-road bike riding or youths congregating.

Crime Problems: This includes problems including burglary of dwellings, criminal damage, drug dealing, car crime, arson, public order offences and violence against people or property (Rotherham 2010, 2006)

This method of defining anti-social behaviour is very effective as it addresses the needs of the local population focusing upon the main instances of anti-social behaviour, which occur within that area. And as can be seen it is divided down into three main categories based around a core definition, recognising that not all anti-social behaviour is necessarily illegal, but must still be addressed. I find that this is the most relevant and appropriate not to mention effective method of defining anti-social behaviour; this is therefore the definition, which I chose to employ in my final year research project.

Once again, I hope that you find this useful, please don’t hesitate to ask any questions, or let me know if you think I'm wrong with a comment. Please note that I also sell my final year Dissertation/Research Project (Grade: 1st) on Ebay, its titled:“An exploration of two dimensions of the relationship between anti-social behaviour and place:  what are the characteristics of areas suffering from high and low levels of ASB and what impact does this have on young people's feelings of safety?”"And can be purchased here