Community Trigger - dealing with anti-social behaviour

What is the Community Trigger?

Responding to, and tackling, anti-social behaviour is a priority for all community safety partners in Derbyshire. Derby City Council brings organisations together to enable us to bring to justice those causing anti-social behaviour and provide support for people affected by it.

Derby City Council always strives to provide a high level of service, but recognise that there may be times when, we don’t get it right. This is where the Community Trigger comes in.

The Community Trigger gives victims of anti-social behaviour the right to request a review of their case, if their concerns have not been dealt with, or acted upon, and organisations have been unable to resolve the serious persistent, or targeted, anti-social behaviour successfully.

The Community Trigger is also known as an Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review. The aim of the review is to see whether anything else can be done and possibly find solutions that may not have been considered before.

In Derbyshire, the Community Trigger process is managed by the local council on behalf of the other organisations that will be involved in the review, such as the police, local health teams and housing providers.

Within the period 2020-2021 Derby City Council completed 0 Community Triggers. This is either due to applications not meeting the threshold when reviewed with partners or not receiving any Community Trigger applications.

When can I use the Community Trigger?

You can use the Community Trigger if you have reported three or more related incidents of anti-social behaviour, within the last six months.

It doesn’t matter who the anti-social behaviour has been reported to (the council, the police or your landlord), please use the Community Trigger application form on our website.

You can apply for the Community Trigger on behalf of someone else, but you must provide their consent, with the application form.

A detailed explanation of the threshold for the Community Trigger is contained within the Guidance Notes for the Community Trigger Application Form.

When should the Community Trigger not be used?

The Community Trigger is not intended to be an alternative to the relevant organisation’s complaints procedure, which is designed to deal with complaints about individual officers, or services.  

The complaints procedure is not appropriate for concerns such as:-

• where staff have been rude or disrespectful to you
• where staff have given inaccurate or misleading information
• where staff have promised things, such as telephone calls or meetings, and have not delivered on these
• where the organisation has failed to follow their policy and/or procedure.

If you have followed the relevant organisation’s complaints procedure and you are still dissatisfied, you will be given information about the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, the Housing Ombudsman or the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

How do I use the Community Trigger?

In order to use the Community Trigger to request an Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review, you must complete the Community Trigger application form. 

Please view the Community Trigger guidance notes are to help you complete the application form. 

If you require a hardcopy of the Community Trigger Application Form or help completing the form, please email CommunitySafety@derby.gov.uk or telephone Craig Keen, Community Safety Manager on 01332 643021.

What happens after I submit an application form?

We will confirm receipt of a completed Community Trigger Application Form, within five working days.

We will review the information you have provided, to determine whether your case meets the Community Trigger threshold.  If it does, an Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review will take place.  This will involve agencies sharing information, such as with the police, housing, environmental health, social care and health providers, depending on the nature of the case.  The Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review will discuss the issues you raise, consider what action has already been taken and consider recommendations for additional action to resolve the problem. 

We will inform you of the outcome and recommendations of the Anti-Social Behaviour Case Review.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the Community Trigger, you can lodge an appeal with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire.

We welcome the opportunity to review cases of anti-social behaviour, but Community Trigger applications may be rejected if they are thought to be prejudicial, discriminatory, malicious, unreasonable or vexatious.