Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy

Safer BCP Partnership

The Safer BCP Partnership brings together BCP Council, Dorset Police – BCP Local Policing Area, National Probation Service, Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Services, Dorset Combined Youth Justice Service, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and Community and Voluntary sector agencies to improve safety for residents, businesses and visitors. Working with communities to deal with Anti Social Behaviour is identified as a priority for the partnership. Find out more about the Safer BCP Partnership on their website.

What is Anti-Social Behaviour?

Anti‑social behaviour is defined as behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to others.

Anti Social Behaviour is often grouped into three categories:

Personal is behaviour targeted at an individual or group with the intent to cause distress or alarm. Examples could include aggressive begging, abuse or harassment that falls short of being criminal.

Nuisance is behaviour that is not targeted but which has a negative impact on the wider community. Examples include noisy neighbours, rowdy groups, street drinking, etc.

Environmental is behaviour which affects property or public spaces and contributes to making an area feel run-down, neglected or unwelcoming. Examples could include graffiti, vandalism, littering or fly-tipping, etc.

People experience ASB in different ways, and we want to hear about what matters most to you.

The Strategy

We know that safe communities and personal safety are really important to a lot of our residents. While police are responsible for dealing with criminal activity, there are other activities that are not criminal but which still cause harassment, alarm or distress. This is Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) and this is the focus of this survey. We want to know about your experiences of Anti Social Behaviour in the BCP area to give us a clearer picture of the types of ASB causing concern, where this is happening, and the impact it is having on local people and communities.

We work closely with partners such as Dorset Police and support services to tackle anti-social behaviour, through prevention, engagement, support and enforcement. There has been an 18% reduction in anti-social behaviour in BCP in the last year but we want to go further, not only do we want to reduce ASB but we want to increase the feeling of safety. Help shape our strategy by sharing your views.

Please take part and share your views.

By completing the survey, you can help us develop a strategy that focuses on the issues that have the greatest impact on residents and supports safer, more welcoming communities for everyone.

This survey asks about:

• Your perceptions of anti‑social behaviour in your area
• Any personal experiences you may have had
• Whether and how you reported ASB
• Your views on the actions taken to deal with it

Whether you have experienced anti‑social behaviour directly, witnessed it, or simply have views about how it is handled locally, your input is important. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete, and your responses will be confidential.

Alongside this open survey, we have engaged Darmax Research Ltd to carry out a drop-and-collect household survey. This will ensure that we hear from all communities within the BCP area. If you are asked to complete the household survey, please consider doing so even if you have already completed this survey online.

Please do not use this survey to report Anti Social Behaviour as it may be some time before we read the individual responses. If you have witnessed or are currently experiencing ASB that requires a response, visit Report antisocial behaviour | BCP to find out the best way to report it.

Consultation dates

Start: 21 May 2026

Close: 12 July 2026

Related links

Antisocial behaviour | BCP

Safer BCP Partnership