Almost one in five people (17.8%) have considered moving home because of the impact anti-social behaviour was having on them.
That’s according to new research from YouGov, commissioned by ASB specialist Resolve, which found that ASB was so bad in some cases that it caused one in 10 people to actually move.
More generally, the findings show that more than a quarter of people (26.3%) say ASB has made them feel unsafe in their local area.
In the UK, around 1.7m people experience ASB on a daily basis.
Two-fifths of people (40.2%) think levels of ASB have increased in their local area compared with three years ago, 17.2% of whom say it has increased a lot.
For Rebecca Bryant OBE, the chief executive of Resolve, the message of the findings is “clear”.
She said: “We must do better when it comes to supporting victims of anti-social behaviour.
“ASB is not low-level; it devastates the lives of victims and communities and can be a precursor to more serious crime.”
According to Rebecca, part of the solution involves building better connected and empowered communities.
She said: “Everybody has a right to feel safe where they live, and we all have a part to play.
“We know that more resilient communities are safer, and one good thing that we saw during the pandemic was communities coming together more.”
She added: “We need to build on this at every possible level. We ought to work to increase participation, foster pride in places where people live, and empower individuals to protect and improve their communities.”
As a result of the findings, Resolve is calling for better communication around the issue, more rights for victims, improved systems for anonymous reporting, and more protection for victims.
Resolve also says that an effort needs to be made to redress the misconceptions around the perpetrators of anti-social behaviour.
Contrary to common perceptions, it is adults – not young people – who are not the main perpetrators of ASB, the report says, adding that the media is partly responsible for perpetuating this narrative.
Image: Ethan Skyes/Unsplash
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