Contracts tackle anti-social behaviour in children
A total of 27 young people who were drinking, refusing to leave stores and intimidating people in Lincoln city centre have signed contracts agreeing to a code of behaviour.
The acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) aim to stamp out anti-social behaviour among the group as they set out the conduct expected of the young person. They are also designed to prevent youths getting a criminal record and moving into a regular involvement in crime.
Each contract is tailored to directly address the issues of each case, for example imposing a curfew, not drinking in public or limiting the number of people socialising in a group with.
Children as young as 12 were engaging in anti-social behaviour in the city last year with ages ranging up to 16. Those who have signed contracts have admitted that they behaved in an unacceptable way and breaches could lead to legal action – including eviction of the families of culprits from council homes.
PC Molisa McGinnis has been working in the issue: “The anti-social behaviour escalated in the summer last year and we started to see a rise in the number of reports coming in with increased concerns from local businesses and members of the public.
“The issues were mainly affecting Central Car Park by the bus station, local businesses, the Cornhill, and High Street areas. Our officers and City of Lincoln Council were receiving reports of youths threatening customers, refusing to leave stores, riding e-scooters and bikes on public footways, and drinking issues that mainly happened during the weekend between 6pm and 10pm.
“We knew that we needed to do something and engaging these young people in a way that would help them understand what was and wasn’t okay was the way to go. We also had additional officers tasked with patrols, and the first step in most cases was to issue an initial warning to the children involved, which includes speaking to their parents or legal guardians. In a large number of those cases, we didn’t see repeated ASB.”
Since the summer, the police and city council have issued 190 advice letters and spoken with parents and guardians, and a further 41 warning letters. This involved an officer and someone from the council attending the home address to speak to the child and their parents or guardians to make them aware that this is more serious, and it was a last opportunity to change their behaviour before they would be asked to sign an ABC.
“But of course, there were some who persisted,” PC McGinnis added. “When the advice and warning letters didn’t hit home, and those children continued to act in such an unacceptable way, they had to attend the police station and sit down with a Sergeant and someone from the council while the contract is drawn up. This is the stage where the contract is tailored to specifically address that child’s behaviour.
“There may be some who say that a piece of paper won’t solve anything, but this is a really important tool in tackling ASB because it gives us an evidence base to intervene swiftly with other measures if things don’t change. We know that ASB can often lead to criminality and we don’t want the children in our communities ruining their lives when they have barely begun by getting a criminal record.”
These contracts now last for six months but can be extended if there are breaches.
Whilst an ABC is not legally binding, if breached, it can be used as evidence to illustrate that enforcement action such as an injunction is required, because the non-legal tools have been unable to successfully tackle the problem. A first breach would involve a discussion with authorities, a second would require an attendance at an interview/appointment, and a third may lead to legal action.
These contracts don’t take the place of prosecutions for criminal actions, and people will be dealt with if their actions tip the threshold into criminality.
Ben Jackson, Public Protection, Anti-Social Behaviour and Licensing Manager at the city council said: “Our Public Protection and Anti-Social Behaviour team are working closely with Lincolnshire Police to tackle youth anti-social behaviour (ASB) in Lincoln.
“We follow a process agreed by partners of the Safer Lincolnshire Partnership which ensures the youths and parents are offered the necessary support to avoid enforcement action. These Acceptable Behaviour Contracts are an effective tool in setting the expectations of the youth and rely on them following the requirements of the contract.
“Unfortunately, there are some youths who aren’t taking notice of these warnings. We want these individuals and their parents to be aware that the council can, and will, consider legal action against those that don’t accept help and who continue to engage in ASB.
“It is also important to note that where the youth reside in one of our council homes and are engaging in ASB, the parents could be subject to tenancy enforcement action. This could mean the council seeking possession of the family home. The objective is to stop the ASB and/or criminality whilst negating the need to criminalise youths.”
Stock photo.