Respect

Robin Lawler and Deborah McLaughlin
Northwards Housing chief executive Robin Lawler (left), and the City Council's Director of Housing Deborah McLaughlin sign up to the Respect standard

We support a national campaign to tackle antisocial behaviour and encourage people to respect their neighbours and community.

The 'Respect' campaign is about considering the needs of people around us, and caring about the community. Too many people still experience antisocial behaviour, and feel helpless to stop it.

But a great deal can be done; and it works. We play an important role, working with the community, the police and other services. We can help protect communities from antisocial behaviour and stop it happening in the first place.

Our commitment

We will do everything in our power to create a culture of respect. Everyone who works for Northwards must understand what it takes to make a positive difference and be prepared to carry out what they promise.

Nobody knows better than local people about what needs doing. So we must listen, and communicate regularly and clearly with the community.

Some antisocial behaviour can be nipped in the bud. If problems are not dealt with quickly, troublemakers feel they can get away with it. We must clearly warn people about their behaviour and act quickly if they don't change. We will use the powers the government has provided; such as Asbos, injunctions and evictions where appropriate.

Tackling the causes

The first priority is always to protect the community. But to beat the problem long-term we need to help people to change their poor behaviour. We can help other organisations get to the root causes such as family breakdown, poor parenting skills, drugs and alcohol - and help people who want to get back on track.

What can you do?

We want people to help us take a stand against all antisocial behaviour. If you are having problems, do what you can first - for example asking a neighbour to keep the noise down late at night. But if the problems continue, or are more serious, report antisocial behaviour; we can help.

Even if you’re not having problems yourself, you can help promote a culture of respect:

  • come to public meetings and events we organise – check that we're delivering our commitments!
  • if you are a member of a local tenants' group start a discussion at your next meeting about the Respect agenda. If there isn't a group in your area, why not start a group?
  • encourage your neighbours to get involved in promoting respect

print print this page

email email this page to a friend