Housing Executive makes headway in battle against anti-social behaviour

Approximately 4,700 incidents of anti-social behaviour (ASB) were received and processed across the Housing Executive’s 35 District Offices - 104 of these in the Newtownabbey 1 District and 170 in Newtownabbey 2 District.

This is a slight increase of 6.7% on the previous year - 4390, and may well be due to increased public confidence in reporting ASB to the Housing Executive. During the year the Housing Executive repossessed 54 properties on the grounds of antisocial activity.

Commenting on performance, Frank Mulhern, Community Safety Manager said: “Our district offices have performed extremely well this year but there is still much more that can be achieved.

“We must continue to work with communities to bring an end to anti-social behaviour. I would encourage people to report incidents as and when they occur and not to suffer in silence. We will continue to work closely with our colleagues in the PSNI and local councils to address anti-social behaviour.”

“The Housing Executive’s focus is on early interventions that stop such behaviour, and action that helps keep people in their homes. Legal action is therefore only required in 1% of all reported incidents of anti-social behaviour.

“The majority of reports we receive are relatively low level incidents with over 25% of all reports relating to noise nuisance. Most cases can be resolved by the use of warning letters, Acceptable Behaviour Contracts or referral to our mediation service. Over the past 12 months we have seen a significant increase in mediation referrals from 89 to 184. This approach is clearly having a positive impact.”

“If you are a Housing Executive tenant and are experiencing anti-social behaviour, you should report the incident immediately to your local Housing Executive District Office. You can come and talk to us confidentially and we will see what needs to be done to tackle the problem.”