Haringey Council to Enhance Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy with New Governance Group
Haringey Council is undertaking a comprehensive review and update of its strategy for tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB), aiming to formalise its approach and improve oversight.
Adam Browne, ASB, CCTV and Enforcement Manager, reported significant progress in the council's approach to ASB over the past 12-18 months. This progress has been marked by improved multi-agency working with the police, housing providers, and public health teams. Joint operations, including days of action and the execution of closure orders, have been a key feature, with these orders now incorporating outreach services to support vulnerable individuals. The council has also secured funding for a 'cuckooing initiative', which has addressed over 60 cases of exploitation in the past year. These cases often involve individuals at their lowest ebb, whose life savings or homes are taken by those with malicious intent, frequently linked to the supply of Class A drugs like heroin and crack cocaine.
To further strengthen its response, a proposal has been put forward to establish a Strategic ASB and Street Scene Governance Group. This group, which will report to the Community Safety Partnership, aims to provide strategic governance, assurance, and improvement of Haringey's partnership response to ASB and street-scene harm. The proposed membership includes representatives from Community Safety, Police, Housing, Public Health, Environmental Services, Legal, Adult and Children's Safeguarding, Licensing, substance-misuse services, and relevant housing providers, with others attending as needed.
The group's terms of reference include overseeing ASB demand and harm, repeat locations, premises and people, high-harm and complex cases, and street scene issues. A key function will be to ensure that learning from ASB case reviews is effectively implemented across different departments and partner agencies. The Board will receive structured oversight of these reviews, focusing on demand, timeliness, recommendations, recurring themes, and whether systemic learning is being implemented. An aggregate dashboard, typically quarterly, will cover metrics such as applications received, accepted, declined, and withdrawn; reasons for decisions; time from application to decision; types of ASB; agencies involved; and recurring coordination problems.
Residents often experience drug dealing, drug taking, street drinking, intimidating congregations, litter, waste, noise, graffiti, and poorly managed spaces as a combined problem, referred to as 'street-scene harm'. The proposed Board will oversee the partnership response to this, recognising that treating these matters as separate service requests risks addressing symptoms without tackling the root causes. The response may involve a wide range of services, including policing, ASB, housing, environmental services, licensing, public health, substance-misuse services, outreach, highways, parks, businesses, and landlords.
An implementation plan suggests that the Board's first 60 days will involve confirming its sponsor and chair, mapping meetings and reporting structures, agreeing interim definitions for key terms, and establishing baseline ASB case-review demand. The following 30 days will focus on drafting terms of reference and referral protocols, agreeing panel thresholds, designing the dashboard, and identifying pilot street-scene locations. The Board is expected to launch and begin exception reporting within 90 days, with a six-month readiness programme covering the legal framework, policy, training, and performance reporting.
Challenges with the court process, leading to potential delays of up to two years for evictions and injunctions, were also noted as an area requiring attention.
Public reports pack 08th-Oct-2026 13.30 Community Safety Partnership Agenda frontsheet 08th-Oct-2026 13.30 Community Safety Partnership