Do the council have a legan responsibility to move us?

poppysarah

I would say if you can get a few hundred quid together get CCTV up.

I'm surpised the police haven't offered it you already.

Keep the diary. Come back here for a friendly bit of support whenever you need it.

misssarahleigh

poppysarah wrote: »

I would say if you can get a few hundred quid together get CCTV up.

I'm surpised the police haven't offered it you already.

Keep the diary. Come back here for a friendly bit of support whenever you need it.

We had CCTV at the top of the road on a lampost. It was cut down with a steal cutting saw and never replaced.

While it was there i had 2 acts of vandalism on my car. The PCSO dealing with it had to come back to me after 4 months to say he just couldn't get them to release the information.

I tried the head of the ASB unit. He first said there was evidence, then said there wasn't, then ignored me.

If we have CCTV which was visable they would just aim to destroy it and would attract more attention.

Also, we have been informed, as we park our cars in the road outside out garden technically any evidence would not be used as it isn't in our remit dispite it covering our cars.

squinty

I suggest that you contact the ASB section of the council – this is usually part of the Housing Department. The Council also has a legal responsibility to publish their ASB strategy and information on how to report ASB on their website – check this out.


As others have suggested you need to keep a diary. If you approach the ASB team they should have specific diary sheets to use and these need to be sent to the ASB team on a regular basis to allow them to build up a picture (keep copies if you prefer). If your council do not have specific sheets devise your own. You need to record:


What is the behaviour?
When did it happen (date and time)?
Who caused this (name or description)?, and
How did it disturb you?


It is important to keep this records regularly. If action is taken against the perpetrators contemporaneous records have more value than recollection.


You also need to ensure that all criminal acts continue to be reported to the police. To some extent the police increase resources in areas where there are more reports of crime.


You may also be aware that the police and local authorities are changing the way that they deal with ASB. Following the Fiona Pilkington case in Leicestershire where a woman killed her disabled daughter and took her own life after years of victimisation. The incidents you mention appear to be at least as serious as those faced by the Pilkingtons. You may want to write to your MP and mention this case.



Hope this is of use. Please post any update.

missile

If you are not satisfied with response from Police and Council make an official complaint in writing. You will get a response.

Write each and every time there is a problem and keep copies.

jed1_2

ILW wrote: »

Has you hubby had a word with these kids?

Didn't Gary Newlove do that once? I say 'Once' because he never actually got a chance to do it again after being kicked to death. Would you risk letting your old man confront the gang of yobs who had just petrol bombed your car and terrorised your family for months and politely ask them not to do it again?

misssarahleigh

squinty wrote: »

I suggest that you contact the ASB section of the council – this is usually part of the Housing Department. The Council also has a legal responsibility to publish their ASB strategy and information on how to report ASB on their website – check this out.


As others have suggested you need to keep a diary. If you approach the ASB team they should have specific diary sheets to use and these need to be sent to the ASB team on a regular basis to allow them to build up a picture (keep copies if you prefer). If your council do not have specific sheets devise your own. You need to record:


What is the behaviour?
When did it happen (date and time)?
Who caused this (name or description)?, and
How did it disturb you?

I have apprached the ASB team many times trying to help in the area. The head of it is for want of a better word, useless.

He's never done anything to help, just moans and groans abit. Orther people i've spoken to are trying to do something where as whenever i have rung him it seems a great effort to spare his time to speak with little old me.

I think the problem is why keep the records. This won't be taken into account for housing. The council explained that it's done on band and time waiting. Nothing else. The only way around that is if 'managers' or other people interveen. This is what i'm hoping for.

As for helping in a court case, the neighbourhood housing woman who has just left openly admitted that certain neighbours are keeping records on certain people. She quite freely told me and it's a good job i understand the severity of what she said. SHould i mention that to friend A, who tells friend B etc etc This would potentially put his neighbours at risk. I in no way feel she should have revealed that information to us and in doing so broke confidentiality and threatened their safety.

I have an appointment today with a charity housing organisation. My neighbour is ringing the housing manager that she and my mum had a meeting with last week who has failed to get back to use.

The yobs in the area have calmed down.They aren't as thick as you would think. They know the police are out, they will lay low for a few weeks, wait for it to drop off and then run riot again.

TBH i think the bad weather has been more of a deterrant than the police

princeofpounds

regarding the lack of assistance from the council, make an official complaint if necessary about the relevant department(s). You can then move through the process and eventually go the local government ombudsman. Unfortunately I don't know enough about the duties they have in your specific case - you would have to prove they have not done something their own policies say they should.

you can also elevate the police situation to a complaint.

finally, try the neighbours from hell forum which is much more specialist on these issues, might be some more help there.

squinty

misssarahleigh wrote: »

I have apprached the ASB team many times trying to help in the area. The head of it is for want of a better word, useless.

He's never done anything to help, just moans and groans abit. Orther people i've spoken to are trying to do something where as whenever i have rung him it seems a great effort to spare his time to speak with little old me.

Ok - then make a formal complaint - details on how to do this will be on thier website. It is usual for a councils complaints procedure to have three stages - each dealt with by a more senior officer - if still not dealt with then go the the local government ombudsman. The ombudsman will not usually deal with a case unless it has been through the councils complaint procedure.

misssarahleigh wrote: »

I think the problem is why keep the records. This won't be taken into account for housing. The council explained that it's done on band and time waiting. Nothing else. The only way around that is if 'managers' or other people interveen. This is what i'm hoping for.

Are you sure? It is a legal responsibility for the council to give reasonable prioirty to some groups. Most allocations systems, including CBL schemes do give priority to people who are victims of ASB. However, to get this priority the council will probably check with the police etc to verify what is being claimed.

misssarahleigh wrote: »

As for helping in a court case, the neighbourhood housing woman who has just left openly admitted that certain neighbours are keeping records on certain people. She quite freely told me and it's a good job i understand the severity of what she said. SHould i mention that to friend A, who tells friend B etc etc This would potentially put his neighbours at risk. I in no way feel she should have revealed that information to us and in doing so broke confidentiality and threatened their safety..

Agreed, this is not acceptable. If you do put a complaint to the council you need to mention this, and also your concerns about being identified.

misssarahleigh wrote: »

I have an appointment today with a charity housing organisation. My neighbour is ringing the housing manager that she and my mum had a meeting with last week who has failed to get back to use.

The yobs in the area have calmed down.They aren't as thick as you would think. They know the police are out, they will lay low for a few weeks, wait for it to drop off and then run riot again.

TBH i think the bad weather has been more of a deterrant than the police

Good luck.

misssarahleigh

Been to the appointment. She suggested getting us banded as catagory A (the highest) based on being 'homeless' as we cannot safely stay at our property. She will speak to the ASB unit to see if they are willing to provide a formal statment.

The housing manager who promised to ring my mother and neighbour after their appointment last tuesday didn't, so i rang him, from what i could gather he hasn't done anything.

I said i know there is a three bedroom property that hasn't been allocated quite to our town (just boardering). We want that, get it sorted (short story). He said he would speak to his manager.

I spoke again to the councillor who emailed offering to look into moving us. She has sent this information to the head of housing options and will be back in touch.

Question one, why have we been dealing with neighbourhood housing if it's housing options that she forwarded this on to (i assume they are different department)

Question two, why, after three weeks, emails to three councillors, the head of ASB unit, the head of CCTV, two police officers, a sargent, head of housing, his boss director of housing, a person from choose and move and, just for the cherry on top a solicitor am i still in the same spot as when i started!

I have taken all your advice. I've looked at the complaints procedure and everything like that, as well as moving up the pecking order to get other people involved, i just don't understand why they are not taking this seriously! and why little seems to have been done! I shall asssume it's because they have never had the experience we have. Just hard keeping my motivation up

p.s. squinty. ASB is not in the slightest way catagorised as a reason to move home within our council. It doens't affect the band your classified in at all, hence why i'm doing what i'm doing. The only way round it is by getting somebody to put you at the top of the ladder.

tomitma

I have been through 3 years of what you are going through, there were lulls in the harassment where we thought that everything had quietened down, only for it to escalate within hours of something happening, we were called grasses, because the police put CCTV cameras in our bedroom windows, I had two cars petrol bombed, it wasn't safe to be outside the house, we ended up with threats to our lives, and the police had to get us out. You think to your selves, No I am not going, I am not leaving my home, my furniture, everything I have worked for, but what you don't think of is one night these drug crazed idiots, could have a knife, we had rocks through every one of our window, it could have escalated to a petrol bomb, and we wouldn't have been able to get out of the house because we put iron bars, on every one of our windows, we were prisoners in our own home, at least once a week, we had the fire engine, or the ambulance, or a hearse, sent to our house, I could open my own restaurant with the amount of take away food that was delivered.

The police got us out of the house, offering us emergency housing in a safe house, but we knew that we had to get out of the town, because these druggies all know each other, so if we were on one estate, it would be guaranteed that we would be found on another estate, and it would all start again. They knew that we were not the grasses, but they had to have some one to blame, when the police raided there homes.. Because we were decent, hard working, with a nice car and home, they didn't like it, there houses were absolute !!!!!! holes, full of needles, dogs !!!!!!, no furniture, because all there money went on drugs.we couldn't have visitors to the house, because I was scared that they would follow my mum and dads car, and find out where they lived and start on them.

This is what you will HAVE to do, get off that estate, beg, or borrow, the money from somewhere to go and start again. You will not be safe until you get off the estate. They wont leave you alone. Get somewhere private rented, and tell no one where you are going. That is the only way. Going onto another sink hole estate is not the answer, you have to go privately.

The worst thing of all of this was we were on our own, the neighbours were too scared to speak to us, in case they turned on them, every one knew who petrol bombed our car, but no one saw anything, it got so bad that even the post man wouldnt deliver our post, because there was a gang of them out side our house every day. The police could do nothing not until they had harmed one of us. But by then it might have been too late.