Anti-Social Behaviour

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Anti-social behaviour (ASB) is one of the main community concerns raised by our residents, and tackling it and supporting victims of anti-social behaviour is a central theme in the Police and Crime Plan 2025 – 2029.

The law defines anti-social behaviour as ‘conduct that is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, or cause nuisance or annoyance’.

There are three main categories of ASB:

Personal ASB - ASB targeted at a specific individual or group, such as threatening or abusive language, harassment or aggressive behaviour
Nuisance ASB - ASB that causes trouble, annoyance or suffering to a community, such as noise, drunken behaviour, drug taking, youth nuisance, nuisance vehicles or drug dealing
Environmental ASB - ASB that affects the wider environment, such as public spaces or buildings, such as such as graffiti, vandalism or fly-tipping

Dealing with anti-social behaviour requires an approach which involves the whole community and the agencies which serve them. As a result of this, we are continually working with our partners to review the practices we are using to prevent, reduce and redress the harm caused by anti-social behaviour.

ASB hotspot response funding

In April 2024, we were awarded £1million pounds as part of a wider national funding scheme aimed at bolstering the response to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and serious violence. The scheme started on 31st May 2024, with part of the funding being used to fund overtime to ascertain the impact of visible foot patrolling on ASB and serious violence in small hotspot areas.

In March 2025, the Home Office announced that an additional £1million has been made available in 25/26 under the Hotspot Action Fund for Wiltshire. This funding will support the Government's 'Safer Streets Mission' to halve knife crime over the next 10 years, and to crack down on ASB and serious violence.

Wiltshire Police used statistical analysis to identify the hotspots in Wiltshire and Swindon where ASB, knife crime and serious violence are the most problematic, and using the extra funding, have continued to increase the number of patrols in those areas.

The extra patrols mean there’s an increased visibility in ten parts of the county. The hotspot areas are as follows:

Swindon: Park South, Old Town, Penhill, Princes Street, Town Centre North

Wiltshire: Calne Town Centre North, Chippenham Borough Parade, Devizes Town Centre, Salisbury City Centre, Trowbridge Town Centre.

Reporting anti-social behaviour

Who you report anti-social behaviour to depends on the type of behaviour.

You can report the following types of ASB to:

Wiltshire Council Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

or

Swindon Borough Council Report ASB | Anti-social behaviour

Littering, fly tipping and dog fouling
Noise nuisance
Neighbour disputes in council managed properties
Abandoned vehicles

You can report the following types of ASB to Wiltshire Police Report antisocial behaviour | Wiltshire Police

Harassment, verbal abuse, racial abuse
Assault
Criminal damage, including graffiti and vandalism
Dealing drugs
Alcohol related disorder
Threatening behaviour by individuals or in groups
Speeding vehicles

If you are a victim of anti-social behaviour, you can find support here : Wiltshire - Victim Support

ASB Awareness Week 2025

As part of ASB Awareness Week, which ran from Monday 30 June – Sunday 6 July, representatives from the OPCC, officers from Wiltshire Police, and partners agencies such as the Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council, Citizens Advice and Neighbourhood Watch, traveled across the county to hear from residents and talk to them about anti-social behaviour.

They visited Salisbury, Warminster, Trowbridge, Swindon, Devizes, Royal Wootton Bassett, Calne and Chippenham.

Find out more about ASB and hear from the Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson in this video.

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Performance for ASB Hotspot areas

Between May 2024 and March 2025, Officers and PCSOs spent a total of

3,549 hours patrolling our hotspot areas
made 128 arrests
undertook 84 stop searches
seized 11 weapons
467 ASB incidents were dealt with during patrols
1,100 recorded engagements with members of the public were recorded
alongside 262 intel submissions.

As a result of this, we saw an overall decrease of -7% in ASB volumes across all hotspots, and an overall decrease of -8% volumes in violence with injury across all hotspots.

These positive results indicate that proactively patrolling hotspot areas delivers positive outcomes and reduces ASB and serious violence.

Community remedy

The community remedy is a list of potential options that can be used as an opportunity for early intervention when dealing with an offender (adult or child), who has accepted responsibility or admitted their part in anti-social behaviour (ASB) or low-level crime.

Community Remedy for Wiltshire and Swindon

#MakingWiltshireSafer

The Commissioner's focus on anti-social behaviour in the Police and Crime Plan 2025 - 2029

Anti-social behaviour

■ Take a proactive approach to monitor levels of crime and anti-social behaviour to identify “hotspots” and support a multi-agency problemoriented approach to solve deep-rooted issues affecting quality of life.
■ As the ‘convenor’ of partnerships, we will continue to build relationships and work with
our local authorities and other partners to tackle the causes, symptoms and consequences of anti-social behaviour in
all its forms.
■ Use our commissioning services to work with young people and those charities that encourage and provide safe spaces and recreational, diversionary activities for young people.
■ When necessary, we will work with the police and local authorities to enact protection and tools and powers to enforce anti-social behaviour laws.
■ Support the expansion of Neighbourhood Watch schemes across the Police area to keep local communities safe.