Youth Site - Keep Safe

Antisocial Behaviour

What is antisocial behaviour?

Antisocial behaviour includes a lot of different things, but it’s basically anything that can disturb the community or disrupt the peace and quiet of the people that live around you.  It can include things like:

• Noise in the street
• High levels of noise coming from a house
• Litter
• Graffiti
• Going onto other people’s property
• Allowing animals to mess without clearing it up
• Getting drunk in a public place
• Anything that harms someone else’s right to feel safe and happy

If you feel affected by antisocial behaviour, speak to an adult about it and they can help you decide what can be done.

Some people who use drugs use parks or other shared spaces.  If you find a needle, do not touch it, but contact your local police station.  If someone does get accidentally stuck with a needle, find an adult as soon as possible who can help you, then seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

Are you antisocial?

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their own neighbourhood, so make sure that you think about what you do and how it affects others.

Antisocial behaviour is often something that goes on outside, in places that we are all supposed to share and look after.  Things such as litter, graffiti and shouting in public spaces can affect everyone who lives in the community.  In some areas, graffiti walls are made available for artists to use, contact your local council to find out if there are any in your area.

It is often the case that people just don’t think about what they are doing. They may drop a piece of litter by accident and just can’t be bothered to pick it up – the thing is, we all need to be bothered.

Antisocial behaviour can start out as ‘just a bit of fun’ with your friends, but if it goes too far, you can end up damaging the place you live in, or other people’s property, or even yourself.

People can feel scared by groups of young people or worry that they are doing something wrong. The police will sometimes need to speak to groups because a complaint has been made – this is their job and, even though it can seem unfair, they must look into every complaint.