Tackling youth anti-social behaviour in Newcastle

Following an increase in reports of anti-social behaviour caused by young people in particular, our Safe Living Officers Amy Martin, Pete Winship and Jack Fordham from the West Safe Living team worked with the local neighbourhood policing team, fire service and other housing providers in the area to demonstrate our zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour. 

A number of action days were at the heart of the approach, which included high-visibility estate walkabouts, door-knocking to offer reassurance to residents, and identifying the young people involved and visiting them at home to talk to them and their parents about their behaviour.  

These events were a big success, with lots of Acceptable Behaviour Agreements served and a number of stolen goods seized and recovered.  Reports of anti-social behaviour also declined while our partnership working with the police and fire service has improved showing what can be achieved by thinking outside the box and working with others to tackle a problem. 

Jen Vinton, our Director of Housing Services, said: "I was so proud to hear about the Safe Living team being shortlisted for this award – we know the impact anti-social behaviour can have on our customers so it’s important we do everything we can to make a stand against it.  Examples like this really show one of our teams putting YHN values into action to come up with solutions to difficult problems and I’m delighted that this has been recognised by such a prestigious national organisation as Resolve.” 

To find out more about the Safe Living team or make an anti-social behaviour report visit www.yhn.org.uk/antisocialbehaviour.