On this page you can read about some cases of anti-social behaviour that Thrive has dealt with. These examples provide information on the impact the behaviour had on the people involved and how each case was handled.
Case studies
Noise
Louise and Adam had been neighbours for over two years and got on well. Both parties looked out for each other, regularly taking in parcels for each other and generally being good neighbours.
Things started to change at the beginning of the year when Louise started a new relationship. Her new partner and his friends started coming and going from her house at all times of the day and night, causing a nuisance by making a lot of noise. The police attended on more than one occasion and Adam and his family were afraid and intimidated by Louise’s visitors and were constantly disturbed by noise, including loud music, shouting and banging.
Adam initially spoke to his neighbour to try to resolve the nuisance directly, however Louise disputed her visitors were causing a nuisance and stated she wasn’t doing anything wrong.
As the noise continued Adam, decided he would contact Thrive for assistance. After we had taken details of the nuisance reported, we completed a risk assessment with Adam to ensure we understood the effect on him and help us determine the best course of action going forward. We agreed an action plan that included speaking to Louise to make her aware of potential tenancy breaches if the noise was proven. We also provided Adam with details of the local authority's noise recording app so Adam could record the noise as evidence of the nuisance he was experiencing. We agreed to an initial weekly case review when we would next contact him.
Thrive remained in regular contact with Adam as agreed, updating the action plan as the investigation progressed. We also offered Adam relevant support referrals to help him during this time.
After obtaining evidence of the noise, Thrive arranged a meeting with Louise to discuss the tenancy breaches. The meeting went well and Louise acknowledged how the noise could affect her neighbours including Adam and his family. A discussion followed about what needed to happen to make things better for the future and the following actions were agreed:
- Louise agreed to apologise to Adam for the upset she had caused and accepted how the behaviour of her visitors had caused Adam to feel intimidated.
- Louise promised that she would make sure any future visitors would not cause a nuisance going forward and she would not play loud music where it could be heard outside her own property.
Thrive continued to monitor the case, agreeing with Adam the frequency of the next time we would contact him at each review. This was either weekly, fortnightly or monthly contact, and at each review we continued to ensure the nuisance had been resolved. Within a few weeks Adam confirmed the noise had stopped and that he and Louise were working on rebuilding their good neighbourly relationship.
Drugs
Susan was a new Thrive customer with a disclosed history of drug misuse. She had lost her job which had a dramatic effect on her, and resulted in a deterioration in her wellbeing and her spiralling back into substance addiction.
Thrive were contacted by Susan’s neighbour Michael who reported frequent visitors, noise and multiple police call outs to Susan’s property. There were suspected drug deals taking place affecting residents, most of whom had young children.
Thrive opened an ASB case, completing a risk assessment to ensure we understood the effect on the Michael and an action plan was agreed. This included reporting any drug dealing to the police as well as Thrive and logging noise through the local authority noise app. We also agreed to contact Susan to discuss the allegations made, as well as agreeing to contact Michael the following week to review the case.
Thrive contacted Susan who advised us she wanted help to get her life back on track. To support her, we made relevant referrals to drug and alcohol services and Susan received both practical and emotional support helping her back to remaining drug free and sustaining her tenancy.
Whilst Susan was in breach of her tenancy which could have resulted in her losing her home, Susan was able to trust Thrive to work with her and supporting agencies to resolve the nuisance she was causing.
With Susan getting the support she needed, the frequent visitors, police presence and noise stopped, and things started to improve.
Susan is still doing well and the neighbours have confirmed they are no longer being impacted so are able to quietly enjoy their homes again.
Cuckooing
Joseph had been targeted by a gang in the area who gained his trust by befriending him, this quickly progressed into them taking over his property and using it to sell drugs. This is known as 'cuckooing'.
Feeling isolated, Joseph had no support nearby and felt he had nowhere to turn to. He also felt reluctant to report the incidents to the police as he was concerned he would not be taken seriously and feared reprisals from the gang.
Joseph had a friendly relationship with the residents in his building but this soon changed once he became friends with the gang.
Joseph contacted Thrive as he didn’t know where else to turn. To ensure Josephs safety Thrive opened an ASB case and kept in regular contact with him. We made a safeguarding referral straight away and arranged an urgent professionals meeting with multiple agencies which included police, adult social care services and the local authority to agree an action plan going forward.
In agreement with Joseph, the multi-agency approach was to find temporary accommodation for him. This was arranged by the local authority with the police, adult social care services and Thrive’s recommendation.
Whilst Joseph was in temporary accommodation, further support was discussed and relevant referrals were made to ensure when Jospeh was rehoused permanently away from the gangs.
As the police were already aware of the individuals involved in relation to other criminal activities, they were able to take action.
Joseph is now safely living out of the area and has the right support in place to thrive in his home. He is a strong member of his community, and enjoys great relationships with his new neighbours which has made a big difference to his life.