More Scots face neighbourhood ‘misery’

Rowdy behaviour, noisy neighbours, out-of-control dogs prompt concerns

A growing number of Scots are now enduring antisocial problems in their communities such as noisy neighbours, rowdy behaviour and out-ofcontrol dogs.

More than half of people say they have experienced such issues, with those living in poorer areas four times more likely to face vandalism or damage to their property than in affluent neighbourhoods – and seven times more likely to face harassment.

The vast majority of adults do still view their neighbourhoods as good places to live, but their “personal experience” of antisocial problems is getting worse, according to the latest Scottish Household Survey 2017.

The Scottish Government is now being urged to get serious about such antisocial problems, which “create misery” for Scots living in local communities. It comes after it emerged last week that crime rose by 12 per cent across the board in Scotland.

About one in eight Scots say there are problems with drug dealing and mis-use in their communities, and the same say there are issues with rowdy behaviour, according to the “state of the nation” report that surveyed 10,000 Scots.

Animal nuisance such as noise and dog fouling is on the rise with a third of people complaining about such issues, while rubbish and litter are issues for 30 per cent of people.

It adds: “Although 43 per cent of all adults in Scotland reported that they had expe- rienced no neighbourhood problems in 2017, the proportion experiencing at least one issue has increased in recent years.

“For example, the proportion of the population reporting that they have experienced no neighbourhood problems has decreased from 58 per cent in 2011 and 46 per cent in 2016.”

The problems are particularly acute in Scotland’s most deprived areas where one in five people say vandalism, graffiti and damage to their property are either “fairly or very common” problems. This compares to just one in 20 in more affluent areas.

A third of Scots in poorer neighbourhoods complain of problems with drug dealing and misuse, as well as rowdy behaviour. In better-off parts of the country, just one in 20 say this is an issue.

Scottish Conservative chief whip Maurice Golden said: “Repeated SNP claims over the years of falling crime completely jars with people’s experience on the ground.

“This is yet another piece of evidence showing, for many communities, things are getting worse. These examples may be less serious than highprofile crimes, but they can create misery nonetheless. The SNP needs to abandon its soft-touch stance on justice.”

The proportion of people saying vandalism and damage to property is a common issue has almost halved.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Scotland’s streets are now safer and less violent than they were a decade ago with the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey showing that the overall level of crime, including crime not reported to the police, has fallen by nearly a third since 2008/09.”

scott.macnab@scotman.com

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