What to Do
What can you do if you feel you are suffering from anti-social behaviour?
If you are having problems with a neighbour, their children or visitors, your first step should be to approach them yourself, if you feel it is appropriate to do so.
You can explain to them what it is that is disturbing you. It will be helpful if you describe the problem clearly (giving times, dates and type of behaviour), and explaining how it affects you and your family rather than just complain about it. It may be that your neighbour is not aware of the problems they are causing and you can reach a compromise. Remember, your neighbour may have problems community safety and concerns that you do not know about.
Try not to shout or lose your temper with your neighbour as this can make the situation worse and could lead to action being taken against you. Try to think how you would like to be approached if someone had a problem with something that you were doing.
Individuals have the right to their chosen lifestyle as long as this does not spoil the quality of life for others.
If speaking to your neighbour does not stop the problem, you could contact the Maidstone Mediation Service who will offer to mediate i.e. act as a go between as a way of resolving the issues.
More Community Safety information
- What to do if you are suffering from anti-social behaviour
- What is mediation and what do the Maidstone Mediation Service do?
- What to expect if you contact the Community Safety team
- Recording incidents and keeping an incident diary
- Legal action and being a witness
- Other remedies to tackle anti-social behaviour
View our Community Safety leaflet
date published: 24/01/2007