ASB week – Thomas’s story
3-9 July is ASB week, so we thought we'd share this story of courage and defiance from one of our customers in the face of violent and threatening behaviour. This is Thomas' story:
Dealing with anti-social behaviour is often a complex and time-consuming process, involving lots of moving parts, multiple agencies and a challenge to establish the facts.
But thanks to the bravery and determination of a concerned customer in Devon, which was later praised by a judge in court, one community is now free of a troublesome tenant.
A peaceful place
Thomas (not his real name), worked tirelessly to speak up for his neighbours when another resident moved in and immediately began causing problems for everyone in the scheme, and refused to back down even when his life was threatened.
He said: “I’ve lived here with my wife for 12 years. For the most part, it’s been a pleasant and happy place to live and I’ve enjoyed maintaining the garden for the wider community to enjoy.
“Since (the perpetrator) moved into his property, things have been unsettled and unpleasant. His behaviour has had a massive impact on my ability to enjoy my home and to go about my daily activities, for example tending to the garden without fear of verbal abuse or worse.”
Death threats
The perpetrator’s behaviour quickly became worse, with vandalism of the garden, multiple instances of noise, shouting, alcohol and drug use, and verbal abuse of others at the scheme. When challenged on their behaviour, things got worse.
“I heard him shouting, ‘You’re a dead man’ and, ‘I’m going to kill you’. I told the police and they told him that if they had to return about his behaviour then he’d be arrested.
“The next day I recorded him threatening me again, angrily shouting that they’d kill me if I called the police again. I was extremely frightened listening to this and my wife was incredibly upset.”
The perpetrator’s abusive behaviour continued, with abusive letters, accusations, noise, more threats and more vandalism affecting the entire community.
Taking it to court
Despite several visits and warnings, the perpetrator’s behaviour didn’t improve, and the team were forced to apply to court for an injunction to try and put some protection in place for the community. Fearing that this would put Thomas, his wife and his neighbours in more danger, the team also asked the judge for an exclusion order meaning that the perpetrator wouldn’t be able to return home during his notice period.
While the team were successful with the injunction, the application for an exclusion wasn’t granted, and that the perpetrator would be allowed back into the community for the rest of his notice period. Although Thomas was disappointed by this, the Judge told the court that he was aware that although lots of people are affected by anti-social behaviour, people have to come forward to make a stand and commended Thomas for his bravery in attending court in the face of such volatile behaviour.
Finding the right support
Throughout the process, our team recognised that the perpetrator was displaying behaviours that could be linked to of mental ill-health and had tried repeatedly to arrange for some support from local mental health services. But, with regular communication and information sharing, our team were able to enable mental health services to intervene and has recommended that he stay with them so he can receive proper care and treatment, giving Thomas and his neighbours some respite until he moves out.
Thomas said: “On behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank you for your help in resolving this matter. We appreciate the hard work and would like to offer you our sincere gratitude.”
For more information on our approach to ASB, take a look at our guide.
Want to know more about ASB week? Take a look at Resolve UK here.