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Anti Social Behaviour

Reporting ASB to the Police and Council


There is a rise in ASB in the high street and Sydenham is part of the Lewisham Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which came into force on 1 August 2024. This represents a significant step forward in addressing ASB within the borough. This tool introduces new powers for the Council and its partners to tackle persistent anti-social behaviour (ASB) issues. These include addressing noise nuisances caused by amplified music and speech, managing alcohol-related and/or drug-related anti-social behaviour, addressing dog-related activities such as dog fouling and enforcing restrictions, managing illegal encampments, and preventing public urination in areas open to the air.



You can find out more information about the restrictions using this link: Lewisham Council - Public space protection order (PSPO) - https://lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/publicsafety/antisocial-behaviour/pspo



Anti-social behaviour is quite complex. Some behaviours are anti-social in nature but are defined as criminal offences in law. For certain types of anti-social behaviour, the Police may redirect the public to their landlord. Given this complexity, I understand why residents may find this confusing and that not everyone knows how or what to report to the Police or the Council.



Lewisham Council works closely with the police to gather evidence and information that enables us to take action on anti-social behaviour as part of the PSPO. Please report all incidents as this will help the Council and the police to take action as I am fully aware of the ASB in Sydenham high street. We are working on various initiatives so that we can restore pride in our high street and help to reduce the number of empty shops.



Below is the link for the Council web page as well as the form to report to ASB:



https://lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/publicsafety/antisocial-behaviour



For non-emergency neighbour disputes, you can call 101 or report the issue online:



https://www.met.police.uk/ro/report/asb/asb-v3/report-antisocial-behaviour/







The police may refer you to your residential landlord or the Council. All residential landlords are required to have an anti-social behaviour policy, which includes an escalation process.



Lewisham Housing residents have access to the on-call professional witnessing service between 10pm - 3am on Friday and Saturday nights by calling 0800 028 2 028 choosing option 5 – or email asb@lewisham.gov.uk



There is more information on the Council web site https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/housing/council-homes/anti-social-behaviour



If you wish to report suspicious activity, please call 101 or email Sydenham.SNT@met.police.uk – and call 101 for non-emergency reporting.



For emergencies including mental health episodes then call 999.



Some people do not feel comfortable sharing their contact details. For those in this position they can use Crimestoppers - https://crimestoppers-uk.org/



I recently visited the CCTV control to view the cameras along Sydenham Road and talked to the operators about liaison with the Police. We raised a number of issues at the May Sydenham Ward Panel meeting. .