3 Types of Anti-Social Behaviour
Your home should be your haven. A safe place for you and your loved ones to feel comfortable and enjoy living in. When that safety and enjoyment are threatened – anxiety, anger and sometimes fear flood in and ruin our feeling of home.
Anti-social behaviour is a huge problem in all types of communities and can be broken down into three main types – personal, nuisance and environmental. In this post, we’ll look at the 3 types of anti-social behaviour in more detail.
1. Personal
Personal anti-social behaviour refers to people behaving in a negative way against a particular individual or group. It describes incidents that cause concern, stress, disquiet and irritation or have a serious adverse impact on someone’s quality of life.
Examples include:
- Harassment – attacks on property, such as false reporting of fires so emergency services arrive at an address, causing stress for the householder.
- Bullying – using behaviour to scare an individual, forming a group with others to intimidate and harass.
- Nightmare neighbours – rowdy and noisy behaviour and playing loud music for the purpose of disrupting, or even starting fights.
- Excessive noise – shouting, swearing, loud music, or DIY work at unreasonable times.
- Intimidation – use of social media to be hostile and intimidate by inflicting fear and stress.
Personal anti-social behaviour has a massive effect on an individual – causing feelings of fear, isolation, anxiety, distress, anger and disillusionment. It can force people to hide out in their homes and withdraw from community support, leading to poor physical and mental health.
2. Nuisance
Nuisance anti-social behaviour is focused on the wider community, including:
- Noise nuisance – driving cars loudly late at night, playing loud or inappropriate music, rowdy parties, street drinking and consumption of illegal substances in public.
- Intimidating behaviour – vandalism or graffiti in public areas, creating fear and distress through violence.
- Verbal abuse and swearing – leading to public fighting and causing a fearful atmosphere in the community.
- Indiscriminate targeting – any behaviour that is done regardless of who is targeted.
This type of behaviour can turn a neighbourhood into a threatening place. Public areas can be left damaged due to the frequency of destruction, community members lose pride in their homes and streets and anti-social perpetrators take over areas that were once protected.
3. Environmental
Environmental anti-social behaviour describes acts that are aimed at public areas or buildings. This type of behaviour can create a bad reputation for a community, leading to others avoiding neighbourhoods out of fear. It includes:
- Vandalism or graffiti – damaging public buildings or areas, for example, local parks or shops.
- Keeping unsafe dogs – excessive barking, letting dogs foul the streets or run around unsupervised, using a dog to intimidate others.
- Littering or drug paraphernalia – discarding rubbish or dangerous drug-taking items in public areas.
The decrease in care for neighbourhoods can happen as people become disillusioned and weary of trying to fight anti-social behaviour. Communities lose their welcoming appeal, and the previous feeling of safety suffers and can disappear altogether.
It is essential that these values aren’t lost and community members band together against anti-social behaviour.
Crime Stoppers Bermuda are here to support you
If you have been a victim of any type of anti-social behaviour or have witnessed these types of acts in your community, be assured that Crime Stoppers are here to help. Our anonymous service allows you to report any concerns or pass on any information on anti-social behaviour with no fear of repercussions.
Any information you report will be treated as confidential and only be shared with the appropriate authorities if needed. If you would like to contact Crime Stoppers Bermuda, either call us on our confidential number 800- 8477 or fill in our online form.
