Community trigger

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 brought in a new additional measure for people who have been the victims of repeat Anti-Social Behaviour. This legislation makes it easier for a victim or someone acting on their behalf, to make an application to have their case reviewed. A review will look at every aspect of the specific case to establish whether all available and appropriate actions were carried out.

The community trigger is not a platform for making complaints against specific individuals who may have had input on a case. Complaints of this nature should be made through the relevant agency's formal complaints procedure.

Applications

It has been agreed that a threshold will have to be met before carrying out a full case review. A case review application should meet the following criteria:

  • The investigation into the Anti-Social Behaviour case has been completed
  • The Anti-Social Behaviour was reported within one month of the alleged behaviour taking place
  • The initial report was made after April 2014
  • There have been three reports of Anti-Social Behaviour in the last six months
  • The Anti-Social Behaviour incidents have all been reported to an agency

Where there is a third party application, the applicant must have sufficient information about the investigation to meet the stated criteria, and the third party must also have obtained consent from the victim(s) to share personal details.

After an application is made

On receipt of a completed application form, the community trigger lead will review the application to see if it meets the criteria. At this stage you may be contacted to provide additional details. You will then receive a letter telling you:

  • It does meet the threshold
    You will be sent a letter confirming that the threshold has been met, and providing you with a reference number for the review. The details of your application will then be reviewed by the independent review panel to establish if the actions taken were reasonable and appropriate to the circumstances. This panel will also consider whether any further reasonable action could have been taken to resolve the case.

The panel will then examine what outcomes were achieved, and then decide is there are any additional actions which could still be taken.

At every stage, you will be kept up-to-date with the process of the review.

  • It does not meet the threshold
    If your application does not meet the threshold, we will advise you of the reasons. Please note that you will still be provided with advice based on your circumstances.

East Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership (ECCSP)

The ECCSP consists of the local authority, police, health and some registered social landlords. We work together to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime and we will share information. If we conduct a case review, the agencies involved in the original investigation will be required to account for their actions.

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) also has an independent role. It is their duty to oversee the reviews, report on the number of applications made, and the number of cases investigated. The PCC has been involved at every stage of the process in implementing the new legislation.

Not meeting the threshold

At the conclusion of the trigger process you will be invited to attend a closure meeting with the community trigger lead. At this meeting you will be asked about your experience of the community trigger, and whether you accept the decisions made about your application. If you do not accept the outcome you will be provided with details on how you can request an appeal. Any appeal will be heard by the ECCSP appeal panel. You will be informed in writing of their decision.

How to apply