Our Commitment

We are committed to equality and fairness for all. We will not tolerate any kind of harassment or abuse based on a person’s race, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, gender, sexuality, age, class, appearance, religion, responsibility for dependents, unrelated criminal activities, being HIV+ or with AIDS, or on any other matter which causes a person to be treated with injustice.

Definition of Harassment

“Any incident is harassment if it is perceived to be so by the victim, or any other person.”  

The above follows the common definition of a racist incident the McPherson Report (1999) already adopted by this council, which is

“A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.”

We use the term “Harassment” to cover both one off hate incidents or a series of incidents.

Are You Being Harassed ?

Contact us immediately on 01794 464811 and ask to speak to a neighbourhood housing officer.  He or she will support you and give you advice and assistance. Any information you provide will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed without your consent.  

Depending on your feelings, you can involve the police. They can investigate the matter and prosecute the perpetrator.  We will help you with this.

If you have been harassed, the Police Community Liaison Officer will support you and give help and advice on 01793 528111. This is because a criminal offence may have been committed.

You can also contact Swindon Race Equality Council on 01793 528545 for advice and support.

What we will do

When we receive a complaint about harassment we will:

• Visit you on the same day or if that is not possible, within 24 hours  
• Take a detailed statement about the incident from you and any witnesses
• Arrange for urgent repairs if your home has been damaged in any way
• Remove any offensive graffiti within 24 hours
• Put you in touch with support agencies who can help you through this difficult time
• Contact the police if you wish and assist them in any criminal investigation
• Carry out an investigation
• Take appropriate action to stop the harassment

We can take legal action to protect you and deal with the perpetrator. Harassment is a severe form of antisocial behaviour, and we can use many legal and other remedies to deal with the issue. The main ones are:

Injunction

An injunction can prevent a harasser from coming near you, your property, or entering a specific area. It can order the harasser not to harass you or any member of your household.

If violence was threatened, a power of arrest can be attached to an injunction. This means that if a harasser does not keep to the terms of an injunction, they can be arrested, fined and possibly sent to prison.

Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO)

An ASBO is similar to an injunction. It can be made against anyone who is 10 years old or above, who has acted “in a manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as himself”.  An ASBO can remain in force for two years or longer in certain circumstances. Breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence with up to five years imprisonment or a fine or both. Differing sentences may apply to young people.

Possession Order

If the harasser is a council tenant, we can apply to the county court for a possession order to evict the harasser from their home.  This is a relatively long process, and we will consider using an injunction to protect you and stop the harassment in the interim.

A successful legal action depends on the quality and quantity of evidence we can produce at court. We do rely on victims of harassment and any witnesses to assist us in every way they can in compiling evidence.

See our Antisocial Behaviour Policy