Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what strategies the police are deploying to (a) tackle antisocial behaviour by students in residential areas and (b) encourage those students to change their behaviour.

The Government introduced a range of flexible tools and powers for local agencies, including police forces, local authorities and landlords, to tackle anti-social behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (‘the 2014 Act’).

These powers are deliberately local in nature. The strategies police deploy is an operational decision that depends on the local context and the circumstances in each case. Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners can decide how they use the powers within the 2014 Act and how best to work with each other, and other agencies, in responding to anti-social behaviour priorities.

Home Office statutory guidance, which was updated this year, supports all local agencies to take the multi-agency approach that is needed to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour, including in residential cases, in a way that takes account of the needs of the victim and the community.

The Beating Crime Plan published on 27 July laid out the Government’s commitment to working with local agencies and partners to drive down anti-social behaviour using the full range of powers and tools in the 2014 Act.