Respect Areas To Be Tough on Anti Social Behaviour |TODAY|

Submitted by dan. on 2007-03-16 21:49.
Community Action

As well as being tough on anti social behaviour, being a Respect area will mean more activities for young people, providing positive pastimes to engage them, rather than turning to anti social behaviour through boredom. Mediation services will also be offered to families where young people are misbehaving, and in some cases Acceptable Behaviour Contacts or Parenting Contracts will be used.

In April, The Knowsley Partnership will be launching a new Anti Social Behaviour Unit, which will combine the resources of all agencies in the borough to tackle all forms of anti social behaviour. This will include making reporting easier, providing support and advice to victims and witnesses, and taking appropriate action against offenders.

Cllr Jackie Harris, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Social Inclusion, said: “Tackling crime and anti social behaviour is a top priority for Knowsley Council.

“However, in order to do this effectively, the views and experience of our residents are absolutely crucial. We have already learned a lot from the first couple of Face the People sessions and we will use that to focus our services around these needs.

“The vast majority of people in the borough are decent, law abiding people, and we are working to make sure their lives are not blighted by the anti social minority.”

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Respect is an important value of restorative justice. In fact, Howard Zehr has written that restorative justice is, in a word, all about respect. He then adds that respect involves humility. The community consultations described here are one way of demonstrating humility, and it is possible to be tough on behaviour and respectful of the person who is behaving. It would be helpful to hear whether this balance is being observed in England.