Anti-Social Behaviour

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their community. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to other people.

Winchester City Council works with the Police, housing providers and other partners to prevent and respond to anti-social behaviour across the Winchester district.

This page explains how to report anti-social behaviour, who can help, and what powers are available to tackle persistent or harmful behaviour in public places and wider community settings.

If you are in immediate danger

If a crime is happening now, or you feel unsafe, contact the Police immediately.

Call 999 in an emergency.

For non-emergency police matters, call 101 or report online through the Police website.

Report anti-social behaviour

There are several ways to report anti-social behaviour.

Report it to Winchester City Council

You can report anti-social behaviour using our online reporting form.

If you do not want to register or log in, you can choose the guest option at the bottom of the login page.

Report anti-social behaviour using our online form

Contact the Police

Call 101 to report a crime or anti-social behaviour that does not need an urgent response.

Call 999 if there is an emergency or an immediate risk to your safety or someone else.

Contact your housing provider

If you are a tenant, you should also contact your housing provider.

If the anti-social behaviour involves a Winchester City Council tenant, a member of their household, or their visitors, Housing Services may investigate under the Housing Services Anti-Social Behaviour process.

Report anti-social behaviour to Housing Services

Contact the Anti-Social Behaviour Patrol Officer

If you are an owner-occupier, private tenant or private resident experiencing anti-social behaviour or are reporting ASB in the community, you can contact the Anti-Social Behaviour Patrol Officer.

Telephone: 01962 840 222
Email: csafety@winchester.gov.uk
Report online

Speak to your local councillor

You can contact your local councillor for advice and guidance about who to speak to about your concerns.

Find your local councillor

Who deals with anti-social behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour is managed by the most appropriate service, depending on the circumstances.

The Community Safety Team usually lead on anti-social behaviour involving:

private residents
owner-occupiers
public spaces
businesses and community locations
wider community issues
cases where there is no direct link to a council tenancy

Housing Services usually lead on anti-social behaviour involving:

Winchester City Council tenants
members of a council tenant’s household
visitors to a council tenancy
tenancy breaches
behaviour linked to council-managed housing

Tackling anti-social behaviour often requires a multi-agency approach and teams may work with partnerships organisations including Police, the housing provider and support agencies.

Public Spaces Protection Orders

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs), were introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

A PSPO can be used where behaviour in a specified public place is having a harmful effect on the local community’s quality of life.

The aim of a PSPO is to make sure people can use and enjoy public spaces safely.

Breaching a PSPO is a criminal offence. This may result in a fixed penalty notice or prosecution. If prosecuted, a person could be fined up to £1,000.

Winchester city centre Alcohol Control Zone

A Public Spaces Protection Order is in place in Winchester city centre. It is known locally as the Alcohol Control Zone.

The order helps to tackle alcohol related anti-social behaviour in a public place.

The restriction includes behaving in a way, either alone or as part of a group, that is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress whilst in possession of an open container of alcohol or whilst consuming alcohol.

This does not apply to licensed premises.

Find out more about the Public Spaces Protection Order

How we respond to reports

When we receive a report, we will assess the information and decide which service or partner agency is best placed to respond.

We may:

contact you for more information
assess any risk, vulnerability or impact
work with the Police or other partner agencies
contact Housing Services or a housing provider where appropriate
share your report with partner organisation with your permission.
consider early intervention or enforcement action
keep you updated where contact details have been provided

Where you report using the online form and provide contact details, a member of the Winchester Community Safety Partnership will aim to contact you within 10 working days.

How you can help us

To assist us to investigate, we may ask you to:

provide dates, times and details of incidents
keep a record or diary of what has happened
share evidence, such as photos, videos or witness details
tell us how the behaviour is affecting you or others

This helps us assess the situation and decide what action may be appropriate.

Action we may take

We will always consider action that is fair, proportionate and based on evidence.

This may include:

advice and guidance
verbal or written warnings
referrals for support
mediation
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts
Community Protection Warnings
Community Protection Notices
Civil Injunctions
Closure powers
Public Spaces Protection Orders

Legal action will usually only be considered where early intervention has not worked, or where the behaviour is serious enough to meet the relevant legal threshold.

If an intervention has not resolved the issue, officers will consider whether the relevant legal threshold has been met for further enforcement action.