Anti-social Behaviour case review

The Case Review Policy

Coventry City Council Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Case Review Policy

1. Background

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (the Act) requires relevant bodies in a local government area to have an Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) Case Review procedure.

In July 2025 the Home Office published revised guidance on the ASB Case Review along with statutory guidance on ASB powers.

The guidance states that the relevant bodies and responsible authorities who undertake Case Reviews are councils, police, Integrated Care Boards and registered providers of social housing who are co-opted into local arrangements.

Relevant bodies must work together to agree the procedure for the ASB Case Review, and each body must publish details of the procedure, so victims know how to apply.

2. Definition of Anti-social Behaviour

For the purposes of an ASB Case review, anti-social behaviour is defined under s105(4) of the Act as “behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress to members or any member of the public”.

This definition relates specifically to ASB Case Reviews.

The term 'harassment, alarm, or distress' is not defined by the Act; therefore, the words should be given their ordinary meaning.

harassment means to subject someone to constant and repeated physical and / or verbal persecution
alarm means frightened or in anticipation of danger
distress means to cause trouble, pain, anguish or hardship

Although housing-related anti-social behaviour has a lower test of nuisance or annoyance for an injunction under Part 1 of the 2014 Act, in such instances because of the victim’s inability to separate themselves from the anti-social behaviour, we will consider in each case if the harm experienced amounts to harassment, alarm or distress for the purposes of the ASB Case Review.

3. Purpose of the ASB Case Review

The Case Review gives victims of persistent antisocial behaviour reported to any of the main responsible agencies (the Council, police, registered social landlord) the right to request a multi-agency Case Review where a local threshold is met. It allows the victim’s voice to be heard in relation to the impact the anti-social behaviour has had on them.

The Case Review takes a problem-solving approach to ongoing anti-social behaviour through sharing information and using the knowledge and expertise of partner organisations.

Receiving an ASB Case Review application should not be perceived by agencies as a complaint about their work but as an opportunity to find a solution for the victim(s) of the anti-social behaviour.

The primary objective is not to check that policies and procedures have been adhered to, or to apportion blame, rather to consider whether anything further can be done to bring an end to the ASB and/or harm being caused to the victim

Victims can request an ASB Case Review if they feel their complaints of anti-social behaviour (ASB) have not resulted in meaningful coordinated action to bring an end to that behaviour. The Case Review offers a ‘safety net’ for victims and helps to avoid individuals being passed between agencies without a resolution.

4. Who can apply for a Case Review?

A victim of anti-social behaviour or another person acting on behalf of the victim with their consent, such as a carer or family member, Member of Parliament, local councillor or other professional. The victim may be an individual, a business, or a community group.

In the event of a third-party application being received, we will still need the victims' consent in order to progress the request and must deal with the victim directly absent an appropriate form of authority to deal with a third party.

Anonymous applications will not be considered as agencies require applicant details to validate incidents referred to in the application. Applicants should be reassured that their details will not be shared with any alleged perpetrators of the anti-social behaviour.

5. ASB Case Review Procedure in Coventry

The following procedure details the actions taken in Coventry when a victim of anti-social behaviour requests a Case Review.

Coventry City Council is the lead agency for their local authority area. The Council’s Community Safety Team manage the Case Review procedure for their area on behalf of the local responsible agencies and will facilitate a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) route to receive Case Review applications in the first instance.

5.1 How to instigate the ASB Case Review

A request for a Case Review is made by completing an online form or downloading an application form from the Coventry City Council website. Alternatively, an applicant can make a request by phone or by writing to the Council’s Community Safety Team.

The ASB Case Review procedure is not a complaints process and if an individual is unhappy with the service they have received from an agency, they should consider making a formal complaint by contacting the organisation directly. If the individual is not satisfied with how that organisation has dealt with their formal complaint, then contact can be made with the relevant Ombudsman or other oversight body to instigate any relevant appeal process that may be available. Making a formal complaint to an agency does not preclude the option to also request an ASB Case Review, if the threshold criteria is met.

5.2 Acknowledging Receipt of the ASB Case Review Application

Within 5 working days of receiving an application, the Council SPOC should acknowledge receipt in writing and explain to the applicant what will happen next.

5.3 ASB Case Review Threshold

To be able to request an ASB Case Review, a minimum of 3 separate qualifying anti-social behaviour incidents about the same issue must have been reported during the previous 6 months to either Coventry City Council, a social housing provider, or West Midlands Police; and you feel appropriate action has not been taken.

5.4 Qualifying incidents:

For the purposes of the ASB Case Review procedures, a qualifying incident is:

where the anti-social behaviour was reported within 1 month of the alleged behaviour taking place
where the report of anti-social behaviour is made within the prior 6 months before the application to use the ASB Case Review is made
the incident was reported to the relevant bodies or responsible authority

5.5 Non-Qualifying Incidents

For the purposes of the ASB Case Review procedures, incidents will not qualify for assessment against the threshold where:

the report, whenever made, relates to incidents of anti-social behaviour taking place outside of the 6-month period for qualifying incidents
the incident(s) are newly reported, and the relevant agencies have not yet had reasonable opportunity to investigate or respond
the report relates to matters which, on their face, do not amount to actionable anti-social behaviour
if the same incident is reported to multiple agencies or reported multiple times, this will be assessed as a single incident
if multiple people make a report related to the same incident, his will be assessed as a single incident
the ASB case review is also unsuitable for any challenge of a CPS decision to charge someone with a crime. Such matters may be suitable for consideration under the CPS Victims' Right to Review Scheme

5.6 Other Considerations

In determining whether the ASB Case Review threshold has been met, the Council will also consider any relevant risk factors, harm, or vulnerabilities affecting the applicant.

Where such vulnerabilities or heightened risk are identified, the Council and relevant agencies may exercise discretion and trigger an ASB Case Review, even if the standard reporting threshold has not been reached, in order to ensure that appropriate safeguarding measures and multi-agency oversight are considered.

Such discretion may be exercised by a manager of appropriate seniority within a relevant organisation and should carefully consider the adequacy of the agency response, the need for wider agency support and whether such support could be provided through other forums.

Where the threshold for the ASB Case Review appears to have been met, but the latest incident has been reported very recently the council may allow the relevant agency a reasonable period of time to investigate and respond to the report before the case review is progressed.

In most circumstances this will be up to 28 days from the date the most recent report was made, unless there is evidence of significant harm, risk or vulnerability which requires the case review to proceed sooner.

Where an application for an ASB Case Review is received and meets the threshold outlined above, the relevant bodies have a duty to undertake the ASB Case Review.

5.7 Repeat Applications for a Case Review

Subject to the guidance in this section, applicants can make a further request for a Case Review if there has been a ‘new set’ of 3 qualifying complaints or 1 hate related incident. A further review has the same purpose identified in section 3.

Before making a request for another Case Review, applicants should seek an update on actions from the previous review from the Council SPOC.

If a Case Review action plan is still being implemented and a subsequent Case Review application is received relating to the same ASB issue, the panel may decide that the undertaking of another Case Review at that time may not be necessary. A decision on the necessity to undertake a further review will only be made following consideration and risk assessment of the further incidents that have taken place to establish that they:

form part of the same series of persistent anti-social behaviour
do not raise additional concern about prevailing or increasing level of risk
do not present new information or new evidence that renders activity in the existing action plan as no longer suitable
do not raise concern that activity under the current action plan is ineffective

Where undertaking a further Case Review will likely result in the same actions being identified from the previous review, agencies must be given time to implement those actions, and a further review may not be necessary. in relation to incidents reported while Case Review is underway.

Managing the expectations of applicants and informing them of action taken in response to their concerns are key to helping prevent repeat applications.
If the relevant bodies who attended a previous Case Review Meeting believe an Applicant is being unreasonably persistent, the Applicant may be informed in reference to the most appropriate relevant bodies’ unreasonably persistent complainants’ policy.

Where an applicant continues to make repeated requests that have already been fully considered through the ASB Case Review and appeals process, the relevant agencies may manage further contact in line with the appropriate Unreasonably Persistent or Unacceptable Behaviour Policy.

5.8 Risk assessment

The harm, or potential harm caused to the victim is an important consideration determining whether the threshold is met because the more vulnerable will be less resilient to anti-social behaviour. Agencies should consider the cumulative effect of the incidents rather than assess each incident in isolation.

Victim’s vulnerabilities will be risk assessed as part of the decision as to whether the threshold is met and assist in judging an appropriate response.

Where the victim is particularly vulnerable, the relevant bodies should consider whether additional practical and emotional support can be offered to the victim.

5.9 Decision on whether threshold has been met

When an ASB Case Review is requested, agencies must decide whether the threshold has been met and communicate this to the applicant. This is a collective decision and not the individual responsibility of the Council SPOC. Liaison by the Council SPOC with relevant agencies could be via a meeting or by phone or email.

If the agencies decide that the threshold is not met, formal procedures will not be followed, but there may be an opportunity for the relevant bodies to look at the case to determine if anything further can be done. Any further advice or support available will be shared when the victim is informed that the threshold was not met.

Where an application does not meet the threshold, a right to review will be available within a qualifying period.

5.10 Informing applicant if threshold has been met

The Council SPOC informs the applicant if the threshold has been met for a Case Review to be undertaken and explains the next steps.

If the threshold has not been met, the SPOC sends a response letter explaining why this is the case and outlining their right to a review.

5.11 ASB Case Review meeting

If the threshold has been met, the Case Review will be undertaken via a specific Case Review panel meeting. The organisations involved should submit/prepare information for the Case Review which should include the involvement they have had with the victim and the case which will help discussions at the case review meeting. Failure to submit information will be included as part of the review findings.

The council, police, registered social landlord and, if relevant, representatives from health services and Youth Offending Service share information about the case, considering whether any new relevant information needs to be obtained and review previous actions taken. They agree if further actions can be put in place to resolve the issue. These actions will be developed into an action plan including timescales for each action, with consideration to how the plan will be monitored.

Victims will be given the opportunity to share information about how the anti-social behaviour has affected them and their household. The victim can attend part of the meeting in person, send an advocate, or provide a written/video statement.

If the perpetrator is under 18, the Youth Justice Service should be invited to attend. If the victim has health related vulnerabilities, a health partner should be involved who may contribute via a written statement or documentation.

5.12 Informing applicant of the outcome

The SPOC will provide a formal written response to the applicant when the outcome of the review is decided. This will include a public-use version of the action plan with timescales for implementation, and any recommendations made as a result of the review.

Where appropriate, the applicant may be invited to provide feedback on the proposed actions. The response will also outline their right to a review.

5.13 Timescales

We will aim to provide a decision on whether the threshold is met within 10 working days. from acknowledging receipt of the application. However, more complex cases may take longer to complete. Applicants should be kept informed of the expected timescales of their application.

Agencies will endeavour to complete the Case Review and provide a response to the applicant within 20 working days from acknowledging receipt of the application. However, more complex cases may take longer to complete. Applicants should be kept informed of the expected timescales of their application.

Where further incidents are reported during the period that the Case Review is being undertaken, the agencies need to ensure these are included as part of the review process (providing they are qualifying complaints). The applicant should be updated in this regard, to negate the need for a further Case Review application in relation to those incidents.

5.14 Independence in the Case Review Process

The Case Review meeting should be chaired by an appropriately trained independent lead, fully conversant with relevant ASB tools and powers. Where Council representatives have been involved in a particular case, consideration will be given to involving somebody independent in the review to provide an external or fresh perspective on the case and the action that has been taken. For example, a suitably trained Community Safety professional from another authority area or another qualified external professional. This is at the discretion of the case review panel and decided on a case-by-case basis.

Officers who have already had involvement in the management of an individual case will be invited to provide input and essential case knowledge, however responsible bodies should also make efforts to ensure that they are represented by a member of appropriate seniority to commit to actions and recommendations that might arise out of case reviews. This may sometimes require more than one representative from an agency.

6. Appeals

Applicants may request a review of if they are dissatisfied with:

The decision as to whether the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Case Review threshold has been met; or
The way in which the ASB Case Review was carried out

Any appeal must clearly set out the applicants grounds for requesting a review on the relevant point of appeal and must be submitted in writing within 20 Working Days of the date of the formal decision letter. Appeals should be addressed to the Head of Service for Community Safety at Coventry City Council.

On receipt, the appeal will be considered by a senior council officer not previously involved in the case, an officer from a neighbouring authority, or another appropriately qualified independent professional, in order to ensure impartiality and provide a fresh perspective.

The appeal reviewer may:

Uphold the original decision;
Determine that the threshold decision was incorrect;
Recommend that a new ASB Case Review is undertaken; and/or
Recommend additional or revised actions

The appeal review will normally be completed within four weeks of receipt. Where additional time is required due to the complexity of the case or the need to obtain further information, the applicant will be informed of the reasons for any delay and provided with revised timescales.

Information on how to appeal, including timescales, contact details, and the scope of the appeal process, will be included in all ASB Case Review threshold and outcome decision letters.

7. Annual Publication of Case Review figures

Relevant bodies have a duty to publish specified data on the ASB Case Review at least every twelve months. The following information will be made available on the Coventry City Council website.

Number of applications received for ASB case review
Number of times the threshold for review was not met
Number of ASB case reviews carried out
Number of ASB case reviews carried out that resulted in recommendations being made
Anonymised case studies may also be provided from time to time

8. Revision of the ASB Case Review Procedures

The Coventry procedure will be reviewed on an ongoing basis linked to any learning from each case review. As a minimum it will be reviewed annually by all relevant partners, including the PCC who should be consulted when the procedure is reviewed (as stated in the statutory guidance on ASB Powers).

Minor, cosmetic, urgent changes to the policy, along with statutory changes (for instance, as a result of changes to legislation or statutory guidance), will rest in the Director of Regulatory Services (or equivalent post); more impactful changes are to be agreed in conjunction with the Cabinet Member for Community Safety (or equivalent post).

Coventry City Council ASB Case Review Process – Flow Diagram

Support Organisations

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Helps organisations to deal with community safety and ASB issues through training, support, guidance and sharing best practice but also has useful information for individuals.

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