Anti-social behaviour policy is still not putting victims first

Protecting anti-social behaviour victims was a priority for the Coalition. As part of this agenda, call handling and case management trials were introduced so that vulnerable and repeat victims could be quickly identified and protected. Vicky Heap writes that the implementation of the process is not mandatory for police forces while the government keeps no record of how widely it is being used. What complicates matters further is the lack of clarity surrounding the point at which anti-social behaviour becomes a hate crime, and so victims could fall through gaps in the system. The result? A postcode lottery for those in need of protection