COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE (1)

Monday, October 18, 2010

HEADED ITEM NO. 4

HEADED ITEM: H. Department

REPORT ON DRAFT ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR STRATEGY

REPLY:

The Council’s current Anti Social Policy document was adopted by the Members in 2005.  A subgroup of the previous Housing and Social SPC was established for the purpose of reviewing the Anti Social Behaviour document.   The aim of the review was to strengthen the enforcement powers and procedures available to South Dublin County Council to deal with Anti Social Behaviour having regard to the changing profile of our local communities.

Since the establishment of the sub committee The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 has been commenced and it now requires each Housing Authority to draw up and adopt An Anti Social Behaviour Strategy in respect of

The significant anti-social behaviour provisions in the 2009 Act came into operation on 1 December 2009, as provided for in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 (Commencement) Order, 2009 (S.I. No. 449 of 2009) primarily:

Set out below is the link to the new legislation for information

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/RHLegislation/FileDownLoad,21568,en.pdf

The draft strategy was widely circulated to  interested parties, agencies and service providers for observations and submissions.  Four written submissions have been received to date as follows:

A      The Superintendent at Clondalkin Garda Station

B      Focus Ireland

C      Mercy Law Centre on behalf of The Ballymun Community Law Centre, Cross Care, Focus Ireland, The Public Interest Law Alliance, The Irish Traveller Movement and the NorthSide Community Law Centre.

D      Circle Housing Association

The Council places value on these submissions and while it is not proposed to adopt all of the recommendations made, some valuable contributions will be taken on board and incorporated in the final strategy document.  In particular the suggestion from Clondalkin Gardai that the role of the Community Safety Forum be expanded to provide a facility whereby confidentiality / anonymity might be provided to residents bringing forward information about Estate Management issues.

It is also proposed to furnish the Gardaí periodically with information regarding trends in Anti Social Behaviour to assist them in the preparation of their Annual Policing Plans. 

The recommendation of the Superintendent that awareness of the impact of the powers conferred on both the Gardaí and the local authority by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 be heightened will be taken on board.

It is envisaged that greater input will be required from the Gardaí where legal actions are being taken against the perpetrators of Anti Social Behaviour under legislation other than section 62 of the Housing Act 1966 where evidence will have to be given to the Courts in order to obtain eviction orders.  This change in approach is necessitated by the successful challenges which were taken against proceedings by several Local Authorities on the basis that the defendant tenants were not afforded the opportunity of being heard or to take part in the proceedings thereby contravening their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. 

A mechanism will be put in place to ensure that the Gardaí are notified of the granting of excluding orders against occupants of dwellings as distinct from the tenants thereof, perhaps through the various Garda district offices.

Reference will be made in the final document to the importance which the Council attaches to such initiatives as the Garda Diversion Programme and to the exploration of Restorative Justice as a means of redressing the detrimental effects of anti social behaviour on communities.

All of the submissions received placed great store on the importance of early intervention in combating Anti Social Behaviour.  Such interventions can arise primarily from the effective exchange of information between agencies such as the Council, The Gardaí, external social workers, schools, Community Workers and Youth workers.  It must be acknowledged that currently, case conferences involving all of these parties occur only when family behaviour is at or near crisis point but it is hoped that consultations involving some of the named parties may be arranged, presenting less of a logistical challenge.  The Council’s social work team have stressed that early intervention will invariably involve young people, who, through their actions put the tenancies of their parents’ at risk.  The team believes that its tenancy sustainment staff can be at the forefront of coordinating and monitoring the establishment of interagency groups to address the behaviour of such young people.

The Strategy Document will reaffirm the Council’s commitment to the continued provision of pro social measures to prevent and ameliorate the effects of Anti Social Behaviour in the various communities that comprise South Dublin County.  The various clinics held around the County which are facilitated jointly by Council staff and Gardaí, the specially dedicated allocations support staff, the Council’s Welfare Service, the community safety fora and the various services provided at Community Centres around the County all contribute in this regard.  Major investments have been made by the Council and other state agencies in supporting communities affected by various forms of deprivation through such schemes as the RAPID Programme.  The result is that no community can claim to have been abandoned by the State or its agency as a justification for unacceptable behaviour. 

The Strategy will affirm the Council’s commitment to supporting tenant and members of their family who lapse in their behaviour as citizens.  A system of escalating actions will be utilized as part of an enforcement regime geared towards eradicating unacceptable behaviour or alternatively to removing errant tenants or subtenants from our communities.  It should be noted however that while the Council is usually prepared to give such persons every chance to mend their ways, cases will arise where the Council will seek to remove tenants immediately in the interest of protecting other members of the community. 

The Council has recently engaged in protracted consultation with the Data Protection Commissioner about the retention of records on the Council’s Anti Social Database and in particular about the retention of such records relating to the behaviour of minors.  It is proposed to enunciate the Council’s policy in this regard in the new strategy with a commitment to retaining records of Anti Social Behaviour by minors to the minimum possible particularly in the case of isolated incidents.

 Here under are three links to the four written submissions received.

Link to Garda Superintendent Submission:

R:\ANTI SOCIAL 2010\ASB Strategy\Garda Siochanna Submission.tif

Link to Focus Ireland Submission:

R:\ANTI SOCIAL 2010\ASB Strategy\Focus Ireland submission.tif

Link to Mercy Law Centre Submission:

R:\ANTI SOCIAL 2010\ASB Strategy\SDCC ASB Submission Mercy resource Law centre Sept 2010.doc

Link to Circle Housing Association Submission

R:\ANTI SOCIAL 2010\ASB Strategy\Circle Housing submission SDCC.doc

The document is currently being redrafted to take account of many of the aforementioned matters and it is considered that this draft strategy contains a good blueprint for how the Council will deal with Anti Social Behaviour in the future in a multi-faceted way.  The valuable working relationships which have been cultivated with the Gardaí and the HSE will be utilised to the full so as to deal effectively with the serious cases which the Council is presented with. 

Experience has shown that a multi agency approach produces the most positive outcomes when dealing with complicated cases where anti social behaviour is often a symptom of underlying dysfunctionality within families.  All too often the obvious solution of eviction may not be the best solution in the interest of all family members.

The first step in the coordinated and collaborative approach to serious anti social incidents, which is being implemented, involves ensuring that all sections and departments of the Council are fully involved and engaged in finding solutions to the numerous problem cases which arise annually.

The Council is now adopting a very tough attitude to tenants or sub-tenants who show unwillingness to engage in a meaningful way with it or other agencies incorporating a regime of warnings whereby a Verbal Warning will be followed by a Written Warning and subsequently Notice to Quit and proceedings in the Civil Courts if initial responses are not considered adequate and genuine.

It must also be noted that the responsibility for the reception and placement of homeless persons coming from South Dublin now rests fully with the Council.  These changes require us to take a more strategic approach to eviction and dealing with those who end up homeless as a result of such action.  Accordingly we propose to strengthen areas of intervention with problematic tenants within the powers provided for in current legislation, both before and after the ultimate sanction of eviction is invoked.   In this regard we are endeavouring to include a process/protocol wherby persons rendered homeless through eviction will be required to adhere to behavioural norms before being rehoused in conventional type accommodation.   

The Council is consulting widely with approved housing bodies who we hope will be in a position to play a major role in achieving the aforementioned objectives and in line with the proposed Local Authority Assessment & Placement Operational Plan for the Dublin Region.

In relation to meeting the deadline required under the legislation it is proposed to bring a report on the draft strategy to the three area committees this month before presenting it to the full Council in November.

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