Together

Together is a national campaign against anti-social behaviour that puts the needs of the community first.

Its strands include:

1) Improving the response – a range of initiatives, from funding for every area of England and Wales, to a new Together ActionLine, to Together training programmes for police, housing officers, wardens, court staff, environmental health officers, and other practitioners

2) Together action areas – pioneering initiatives to tackle nuisance neighbours, begging, and environmental crime in 10 trailblazer areas

3) Victims and witnesses first – research and funding to identify the best ways to support those affected by anti-social behaviour

4) Action across Government - work by a number of Government departments that will help tackle anti-social behaviour

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1) Improving the response across England and Wales

• Together Actionline – a new help line available to practitioners from early 2004 and open every weekday, providing advice and assistance on all the tools available. This will be supported by a Together website

• Together Academy – a centre of excellence in all aspects of tackling the problem, running training, conferences and specialist master classes for all relevant practitioners

• New money to every area of England and Wales – £11 million in 2003/04 and in 2004/05, split across all Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships to strengthen their response

• New assessment for all police forces on their response to the problem, backed with programmes of training

• ‘Anti-Social Behaviour prosecutors’ – a new national team in the Crown Prosecution Service that will specialise in the prosecution of anti-social behaviour offences

• Magistrates’ sentencing – new guidelines on anti-social behaviour offences will be operational from January 2004

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2) Together Action Areas

Tackling nuisance neighbours

Action against the small numbers of families whose persistent and serious anti-social behaviour wrecks communities

• Nuisance Neighbours Panel to find solutions for the worst families

• Targeted trailblazer work in Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Sunderland

• Additional help for parents this year, including the piloting of a residential parenting scheme

Tackling begging

• Up to 30 Criminal Justice Interventions Programme areas for targeted action to reduce begging

• Trailblazer work to significantly reduce begging in Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Camden and Westminster

• Begging will be made a recordable offence

Tackling environmental crime

• Operation Scrap-it - from October 2004 abandoned cars in London and Liverpool will be removed within 72 hours

• Operation Gate-it - fund for communities to tackle crime and grime in alleyways. Further details to be announced in February 2004
  
  
  
• Operation Scrub-it - anti-graffiti initiatives, including a national database of ‘taggers’ - a poster campaign across transport networks to encourage reporting - pilots in 12 areas to enable local authorities to clean-up street furniture
  
  See the 'Name that tag' poster campaign to tackle grafitti
  
  
  
• 100 days clean-up - target 10 estates for intensive and sustainable clean-up

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3. Victims and witnesses first

• Action research to identify existing good practice and the most effective way to support victims of anti-social behaviour. We have already begun recording people's experiences, some of which are available in PDF format:
The Experiences of Anti-social Behaviour (file size 348kb)

• Taking A Stand Awards – build on the inaugural Awards programme and run a further scheme in 2004 and 2005

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