We’ve been left to the mercy of thugs and louts while the police do nothing

Last week victims tsar Vera Baird accused politicians of betraying families plagued by nuisance neighbours. We asked readers for stories of anti- social behaviour – and they came flooding in

VICTIMS of anti- social behaviour across the country have spoken of the shocking failure of police to deal with horrific incidents dismissed as being too ‘low-level’ to bother dealing with.

Scores of readers have contacted The Mail on Sunday to reveal how they have suffered at the hands of louts and nightmare neighbours, only to find the authorities deaf to their despair.

They made contact after the new Victims Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, demanded in this newspaper last week that the authorities transform the way they respond to anti-social behaviour.

Now Dame Vera has also warned that in too many cases, the victims themselves are being treated as a nuisance when they make complaints to the police.

Among readers who contacted the MoS was a family whose ‘nightmare’ council tenant neighbour was convicted of throwing a hot cup of tea over a grandmother during a two-year reign of terror. But the council let the woman move back in next door.

Another man called 999 after a noisy neighbour pointed what appeared to be a handgun at him – but police took three days to come out. The gun ended up being a harmless replica, but the experience has left him and his wife shaken.

Official figures reveal there were a shocking 4,000 reports of anti-social behaviour every day last year. A record 38 per cent of the public have suffered or witnessed anti-social behaviour.

People who suffer from repeated incidents of anti-social behaviour can request a ‘Community Trigger’ review from their local police force or council if they feel their repeated complaints are not being handled properly.

But Dame Vera says the scheme ‘isn’t working for victims’.

She added: ‘ These meetings are often chaired by the same agencies responsible for handling the complaints and so they are just marking their own homework and awarding themselves ten out of ten, rather than delivering solutions for victims.’

Dame Vera, who advises the Government, said people were being ‘fobbed off’ by police forces which say their complaints about rowdy neighbours, young thugs and street drinkers are too ‘low-level’ for them to deal with.

‘Some victims even say that they were made to feel they were being a nuisance for reporting persistent offenders,’ she said.

The victims tsar was backed up by Jenny Herrera, chief executive of charity ASB Help. Research by ASB Help found that only three per cent of the population had even heard of the Community Trigger, and almost half of councils (45 per cent) did not hold a single Community Trigger review last year.

Ms Herrera said last night: ‘We do not believe this is because they are amazing at dealing with anti-social behaviour, but rather that people do not know about it.’

She said even when meetings did go ahead, victims were not invited and ‘feel it is a meeting behind closed doors with no benefit for them’.

Many readers who contacted the MoS in the past week said they were too frightened of their neighbours and local louts to be named.

Among them was a pensioner from South-East London who said she had suffered four years of harassment from her nuisance neighbours. The elderly lady, who has asked not to be named, said: ‘I got so fed up with the rudeness and vandalism that I started taking videos on my phone.

‘Recently, I caught one of them damaging my wall. I got my phone and I have a video of him laughing and saying, “Go on then, call the police. They won’t do anything.” ’

A retired medical secretary from Chichester said she was plagued by children kicking f ootballs against her wall, which backs on to a green. She said: ‘There is a football pitch five minutes’ walk away. The police just tell us to talk to the children and the parents. But that’s hopeless – no one wants to take responsibility.’

A grandmother living in a beauty spot in the Chilterns says she now hates where she lives after suffering seven years of horrendous noise from a neighbouring farm.

The land next to her home is derelict and the council refused the owner planning permission. So instead, he has rented the land to amateur car racers.

She says: ‘They work on cars into the night right next to the back of my house, revving engines and playing music. ‘Also, the mess is appalling.’ She says the impact has been ‘ devastating,’ adding: ‘ I have phoned the police probably over 40 times begging for assistance, only to be told every time that it’s not their problem and to contact the council. The council really do not care either. They want a noise diary filling out, and then they’ll send a letter but I want action to stop the noise. I feel completely let down.’

A Government spokesman said: ‘The Government is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and ensuring victims get the response they deserve.

‘That is why we reformed powers available to the police, local authorities and others to tackle anti-social behaviour and continue to keep them under review.’