Following on from our public meeting about crime and anti-social behaviour, here’s a round-up of ways to report different issues. Our thanks to the outreach team at Lambeth for all these details.
Rough sleepers:
Although we have included it here, it is important to remember that currently rough sleeping is not a crime. Rough sleepers are individuals seen sleeping with bedding (blankets, sleeping bag etc), or about to bed down in the open air (such as on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments) or people in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or ‘bashes’).
Rough Sleepers are not individuals or groups of people seen begging, drinking alcohol, using drugs, or causing harassment, alarm or distress on our streets. These behaviours are anti-social and should be reported as ASB.
Further information on rough sleepers can be found on the Lambeth website or on the Southwark website.
All sightings of rough sleeping in Lambeth should be reported to StreetLink.
What is StreetLink?
StreetLink exists to help reduce rough sleeping by enabling members of the public to connect rough sleepers with the local services that can support them
If you see someone sleeping rough in Lambeth, or you speak to someone who is sleeping rough in Lambeth, you can use StreetLink to alert the appropriate rough sleeping outreach team. The details you provide are sent to outreach, to help them find the individual and connect them with support as quickly as possible. Rough sleepers can also self-refer to StreetLink.
How to contact StreetLink
Website: www.thestreelink.org.uk
Referring to StreetLink
The referral process is also very straight forward and should take no more than 5 minutes. Please provide as much information as possible to enable outreach teams to find the rough sleeper. The most important information is exactly where the person is sleeping or ‘bedding down’. Other useful information includes what they look like, any belongings they have with them, what time they bed down and what time they leave in the morning. If you speak to the rough sleeper and can provide StreetLink with their name, date of birth and phone number if they have one, this is very useful.
If you think the person is under 18, is in immediate danger or needs urgent care please call 999 instead of contacting StreetLink.
Anti-social behaviour
The council outreach teams will only deal with rough sleeping issues. Any other behaviours that are criminal (shoplifting) or ASB (aggressive begging) need to be reported separately to BOTH the police and Lambeth/Southwark.
Reporting ASB to Lambeth
Lambeth have a dedicated section of their website about ASB, which details what counts as ASB.
You can report anti-social behaviour to Lambeth council online using their online form.
Or you can call 020 7926 5000 Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm.
Reporting ASB to Southwark
You can report anti-social behaviour to Southwark council on their dedicated phoneline: 0207 525 5777.
Reporting ASB to the police
As well as reporting ASB to the council, please also report it to the police via their online form.
If it feels like the situation could get heated or violent very soon, or if someone in immediate danger, or you need support right away, please call 999.
Essential information when reporting ASB to the council or police
There is some information that is required to successfully investigate any complaint or report of ASB. This information is extremely important to be able to evidence the ASB as required by the law and take any possible action.
- Who – a description of the individual/s involved in the ASB, the better the description the more likely they will be identified.
- What – a detailed description of the ASB you witnessed.
- When – accurate details of the date, and the time you witnessed the ASB.
- Where – accurate details of where you were and where you witnessed the ASB.
- Why – a brief description of why the ASB you witnessed caused you harassment, alarm or distress.
- Your details – reporting ASB can be worrying, however you will need to be contacted in the first instance for an investigation to be opened, for the details of the report/complaint to be confirmed and to possibly assist with any further investigation.
Reporting other crime to the police
If you’ve witnessed a crime or been the victim of the crime you can report it online. Reports are dealt with by their control room in exactly the same way whether you report it online or by telephone.
Reporting other issues to the council
You can report other issues such as abandoned vehicles, fly tipping, graffiti, lighting, parking, highways, litter, etc. to Lambeth council online. Go to the Lambeth council website, use the search box in the top right hand corner to search any of the issues that require reporting directly to Lambeth, the relevant pages will then be listed for selection.
