Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour: review report

Appendix 4 - Victim Case Studies

Helena’s* story (*name has been changed to protect identity)

When Helena’s partner became disabled as a result of a severe stroke, they began to experience a series of hate crimes perpetrated against them by a neighbour.

Several years ago, my partner had a severe stroke, leaving him in a wheelchair, limiting his movement and speech, and leading to medical complexities, including developing dementia. My partner’s expressed wish was to stay at home, so a care package was set up with me as his primary carer. We had a disabled access sign, wheelchair ramp and a painted line on the driveway for getting access to the disability car.

Any life changing illness that results in a disability is devasting and made even worse when afterwards being diagnosed with late stages of dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. To watch your beloved fade away, unable to feed or communicate, having no independence is heart-breaking.

This situation was made worse when our perpetrator attempted to deprive my partner of the much-needed care he needed through a vile campaign of pure hatred towards a vulnerable disabled person who was receiving end of life care support in his own home. This not only was cruel and heartless but beyond comprehension. He didn’t like the fact that provisions had been put in place to make my partner’s life more comfortable. Our perpetrator, an upstairs neighbour, started banging on our door claiming that he was being bothered by noise from the TV, but we showed him that my partner didn’t have access to a TV.

We had a security camera inside our house and were mortified to see this neighbour entering uninvited. He filmed our carers and shouted at them. He would be waiting for them to arrive and when they put out washing, he cut down the line. I told him to stop harassing my carers and partner otherwise I would report him to the police. This resulted in him threatening and following both the carers and myself when we were leaving the house.

The perpetrator started banging on our doors and our windows and dropping heavy objects onto his floor. He sent children round to scream outside and let air out of our car tyres. He smashed glass over our path and spread excrement over our front door. He would sharpen homemade knives outside our window and box my car in – once for 10 days. He started following me to my workplace. Then he started a fire in the communal garden, using hazardous waste. The carers and I were worried that we wouldn’t be able to get my partner out the house if there was another fire.

This perpetrator knew my partner was terminally ill and he seemed to get a kick out of this. My partner was confused and frightened due to the late stages of dementia, but one of the few words my partner could say when the noise started above was ‘help’, which was soul destroying. My own health was starting to suffer too, I was physically drained due to the lack of sleep and collapsed a couple of times.

Reporting it to the Police

I eventually plucked up the courage to report it to the Police it as a disability hate crime, especially when he ran over and damaged the wheelchair ramp, again boxing in the disability car.

The police who attended the initial report recorded it on the police care card as a ‘neighbour dispute’. They advised that a package would be created, and they would take statements from witnesses and carers during that period. I waited seven months and heard nothing.

Months later, a sergeant called me and apologised and said the officers had go about this totally wrong. I explained about the continuous harassment, the damage, the threats and the diary and CCTV evidence we had which was witnessed by carers, family, friends and neighbours. I explained I was scared to report it as it was ongoing.

The sergeant was fantastic and assigned us a police officer. The officer spoke to witnesses, neighbours and carers who were also victims of threatening behaviour or damage to their property. The officer then said the guy is going to get evicted – but he wasn’t. Months passed, and the harassment carried on.

Continued impact of hate crime

Just before Christmas, my partner had a medical emergency. The perpetrator was making extreme noise while this was happening. The wardrobes were vibrating with the impact of the banging. An ambulance was called and meanwhile the guy was hammering on the window, laughing, and jumping up and down. My partner – my soulmate – died later that day at the hospital.

I went to stay with family after my partner died but had to go back to house to collect things and organise the funeral. The perpetrator was still harassing me. I was receiving silent phone calls and had people coming to the door, asking about my house being up for let. On the day I needed to get out the house to go to the undertaker, my car was blocked in. I had to beg my family not to retaliate. It was similar on the day of my partner’s funeral, where the perpetrator was jeering at our loss. I was unable to grieve.

A few months later the police officer phoned and asked if I was enjoying peace and quiet with the guy having been evicted, and I said that he’s still there. The police officer said he would look into the eviction. Within that week the perpetrator upped his game. He was smashing up the place, swearing at me, threatening to kill me, and challenging other neighbours to fights. I ran to my neighbour’s house and we had to call the police.

He left the house, but the police managed to track him down and charged him with various offences and gave bail conditions. Within days he was breaching his bail by driving up and down the street. He turned up at my work and started following me. One day he drove towards me in a car as I was leaving my work.

Referral to support services

Throughout the two years, no one asked if I wanted to be referred to victim support. However, after giving a breach of bail conditions statement, I was asked if I wanted to be referred to Victim Support Scotland. Victim Support Scotland phoned me soon after and I had my first support meeting. By the end of that hour I was basically whispering my voice had gone due to the stress. The volunteer explained the service was free, that they can provide emotional support and connect to counselling services. It was the first time I told my story in full. And I hadn’t seen myself as a victim – partner was a victim, my neighbours were victims, my pets were victims.

On the day of the trial, I got a call to say that the accused had made a plea bargain – he had pled guilty to stalking and harassment and other charges, but not breach of bail. This had meant a Non-Harassment Order could be applied for. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said it was a ‘good deal’, but at the time, I felt hard done by, it was more like a ‘get out of jail’ card.”

Partnership between agencies

There needs to be a better understanding of disability hate crime, and hate crime in general, addressing the bigger picture, listening and a stronger partnership between the justice system and Victim Support Scotland, and knowledge about Victim Support Scotland by police probationers. This was not just a nightmare neighbour one-on-one. My partner was a vulnerable disabled person who didn’t have a voice. If neighbours intervened or I asked them for help they became a victim too. Others have been affected by the same perpetrator but had also had no justice. The police shouldn’t have recorded it as a neighbour dispute initially, as this was a hate crime.

I feel that there should be a ‘flag-up trigger’ system for antisocial behaviour. After the trigger has red flagged the system, maybe through a points system, then it should be reviewed by a duty inspector. Police and agencies should be asking the victim who else this is affecting – other neighbours, friends and families, carers, NHS workers, even the postman. I also believe that the recently implemented Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will be helpful due to increased training and awareness among police officers about the characteristics of hate crime.

My journey has been a long one. My life has been destroyed, and I’ve been rebuilding it as part of the healing process. When something happens, I now feel I can tell somebody. I can’t quite put it behind me because there’s the likelihood that he will reoffend. The staff member at Victim Support Scotland has been my rock and my anchor during this difficult situation, giving me back my life. My Victim Support Scotland support volunteer has been a blessing and someone you can speak to without being judged. Hate crime has had a profound impact on many of us with traumatising effects and scars that will take years to heal. Through raising awareness of hate crime, hopefully we can put an end to these despicable and cowardly crimes.

Natalie* and Jason’s* story (*names have been changed to protect confidentiality)

Natalie and Jason have experienced persistent noise disturbance and other behaviour including verbal and physical assault from a neighbour. 

It has been going on for over two years. Almost every day we’ve had to contact the Police/Council. We have received no help at all. One of the issues with being in a city centre is that rarely do the police come out to us when we do call. This is especially on a weekend when there are other things going on in the city, but is also when lots of the extreme noise disturbance is taking place. 

One of the main problems is that there is a different approach between different types of tenure when action is being taken. The communication with the housing association of the person causing the ASB has been an immense struggle. We have sent over 200 emails between ourselves in our flat and along with other neighbours in the stair. 

No matter how many complaints and begging we have done, it has not stopped. It feels like nothing makes a difference. There was a brief time he stopped for a while and then just restarted. Nothing he does seems to be enough for him not to live here any more. He should have been evicted years ago. 

My partner’s work is disrupted by lack of sleep caused by the behaviour. I myself lost a job because of it. I was running on so little sleep that I was unable to do things accurately at work, I was staring at the screen unable to function. So, I was fired from a job I really enjoyed. I want to return to do more education but it is a scary prospect that I might not be able to do so with the behaviour going on.

We have not been offered support from any support organisations. The support we got from the police was telling us to put earplugs in. As if that can do anything when everything is vibrating and there are almost earthquake levels of noise. The only emotional support the Police offered was ‘don’t think about it.’ 

The housing association have not been responding to more than half of the emails we have sent. We don’t get any update from them, we get no concrete steps from them. The housing association should respond to their emails, and actually enforce consequences for antisocial behaviour. The police should actually enforce rules when people are being antisocial, instead of shifting responsibility onto the people who are social with their neighbours. Having consequences is fundamental. Making the individuals who are antisocial not be antisocial is key, instead of telling everyone around them to deal with it. 

This was a perfect place to live, work and study before this one neighbour moved in. I have lost faith in teams and organisations when it comes to doing anything about behaviour like this. I want to recover my career prospects and my education prospects. It is extremely depressing with the time that everything has taken. 

Peter’s* story (*name has been changed for confidentiality)

So many things have happened it’s difficult to know where to begin. There was a flat that was vacant above the flat in which I lived, and the council moved somebody into that flat. It wasn’t until later when all the problems began to unfold that I Iearned from Police he had an ASBO [Antisocial Behaviour Order] in place. He was stamping on the floor above my head frequently, and yelling in a voice louder than I’d ever heard. This became a regular occurrence. It affected me in every way, with this stamping and shouting, every second of my life. There wasn’t a moment any day where I wasn’t aware this would happen. It affected every waking hour and in what was supposed to be my sleeping hours.

I can imagine that the council was rolling their eyes when I was saying it was affecting my cat too. My poor cat was more traumatised by this than I was. Every time it started he would hide. I took the cat on as a rescue cat, and had told him that nobody was going to hurt him again. This was hurting him almost as much as he’d been hurt in other ways before I adopted him. This affected me deeply as well. In the same way as if you see anybody you love suffering. I had to get away to save not just myself but my cat, I took on him as my responsibility.

When other people saw me while this was going on, I wasn’t telling them. It’s something I felt I had to deal with myself. I wasn’t telling my friends or family about this because I was failing at dealing with it. I was calling the police when anything happened, but I didn’t want my family to feel concerned or think of me suffering there. I didn’t want to upset them as well.

Experience with justice system and support organisations

It came to a head when the neighbour threatened my life. He told me not to contact police, though obviously I did. It was a very traumatic experience, having somebody less than an inch from my face. He was arrested after a few days but then again in another few days released to continue to do whatever he wanted. It was like the court did not take the threat to my life seriously. Later I contacted the council after he threatened my life and told them I wanted him moved due to the consequences of what might happen if I continued to live there, and they said under no circumstances would they move him. I found out that he had already been moved twice before.

It has to happen time and time again before anything is done. During that time, that is your living experience. Time and time again, day and night.

It was only a week after he was released that he started to play music very loudly. I called the police and then went out of the house because what can you do when that is happening. They came while I was out, and then arrested him for breaching his ASBO as one of the conditions was not playing music too loudly. He was then sentenced to two months in prison, but he’d already served a month on remand. It was strange that when he threatened my life he was released, but for noise he was given prison.

There was certainly no care for me. I am the one that was given victim support. I feel like I am the victim yes, but he has been given more consideration than I have.

I found it difficult to come up with answers as to what help I was given from Victim Support Scotland. The main answer is that the supporter got in touch with me and we spoke. Having a service like Victim Support Scotland is important, it helps because I hadn’t wanted to put the burden on my family or friends. I’m trying to find the positives in this, and so much is negative. I am also fortunate that I had a local councillor in my local authority who had an understanding ear and listened to me.

The ongoing impact

It stopped happening because I moved away from the flat that I was living in. I shouldn’t have to be the one to do that. It has affected me financially. I had bought my flat and I was mortgage free, and I am now having to pay rent. I was the one having to move because they weren’t going to move him. But how come it now costs me monthly rent to pay for the place they moved me. It affects a large chunk of my income, money that I’ve worked all my life for. It’s changed what I can do with my life. I’m now limited as to how much money I need to pay to the council. Any money that I might have to enjoy life and retirement, for example holidays, is limited. But I am lucky to have a new quiet place to live.

At that time where he was being released, I had a mild stroke. Many friends and family of mine believed that the stroke was caused by the stress of what was happening with the behaviour.

There’s only so much that can be done. Especially when there are so many victims. This man still lives there in the flat. If I go anywhere near that part of town, I can’t help but relive the fear. There are times I have to go there such as to go to the dentist and my doctors, but that means I have to revisit that area.

I go to yoga and Tai Chi classes and find that a great help, not just for situations like this one but also for other situations. It helps me mentally and physically. It makes me wonder how people who don’t have something like this, cope with it. I think about people who are trapped inside who cannot cope. Are people committing suicide because of situations that they can’t get away from?

It’s difficult to put across the depth of the trauma. In the past it never went away, I was always thinking about it. But we have to get on with life, at the other side of it. Now in many situations I can escape thinking about it, for example at the classes I go to. People around me say that they can see that I am moving on in many ways.

Ellen’s* story (*name has been changed to protect confidentiality)

Ellen and their family members have experienced antisocial behaviour from a neighbour including verbal abuse, assault, and hate crime.

The impact of the behaviour

It’s actually been really horrific, to the fact that there’s still stuff ongoing. I don’t feel that the council have dealt with the situation as they should have. It’s really impacted me in that I’ve lived in my home for years.

The actual impact is that I’m sitting here today with a camera outside my door from Victim Support, not knowing if I’m going to have to leave my home of many years. I don’t have the support of my family member any more who was moved away due to the behaviour. I just feel that the good people come last, the victims come last, and we protect the people we should be dealing with. So yeah, it’s had a very big impact physically, mentally, you know, living this way.

I just feel if you’re bad in the world, you know you get the best. I do have some protection, I have a non-harassment order through the court. But in the same respect my life is just not the same. I don’t leave home. Previous to that I went through an abusive relationship…. it’s just not fair and it doesn’t feel like my home any more.

I’ve not had a good life since coming out of my abusive relationship. I very much locked myself away from that, and then to encounter this, within my home boundaries, my street, my close. I was fearful that if I went to sit outside I was getting abused on a daily basis. And I’m at home now. I’m very much a prisoner in my own home.

I also have health issues and my health has just deteriorated dramatically through everything. It’s our lives that have been turned upside down.

Response from housing and police services

The council has been very aware. There are times when I’ve had video footage of the behaviour, and the police report and things like that. I just feel like they are coming along here saying ‘Our hands are tied’.

You know, I’ve been many years in my home, and I’ve actually written a letter to somebody in the head of the council about getting moved, but I haven’t heard a single solitary thing back from them.

I’ve been a good tenant. I take good care of my property. I don’t own it, but I’ve been brought up to respect and look after the things I have. And the council have done nothing, antisocial behaviourolutely [behaviourally] nothing. So it’s not just in my street, this individual passes my door every day. So I don’t want to go out, the dark nights are coming in. So yeah, I’ve been completely let down.

It’s got to the stage where I don’t want to see another police officer as long as I live. I know the police are there to help you, and I know services are stretched and I understand that. To an extent, I feel like I was let down by them also. When they come to your house, I explain to them, you’re not living with this. I just don’t even think they understood the severity of the matter. The police just said don’t listen to him but, sorry, I was in an abusive relationship, and these words mean more to me than they would somebody who was just dealing with that.

I just feel that, I’m a Council tenant, and the council should have a better way of dealing with these people not to allow their behaviour. And I know they say ‘we can’t make somebody homeless’. I am not asking for anybody to be homeless, by any means. But if you set out rules, if you sign your tenancy, and you ask for somebody to adhere to that, and you’ve got somebody who is not adhering to that, I think there should be ways that they can deal with these people. You know, that they [the perpetrators of ASB] suffer for their actions and not the people that they are being abusive to.

Accessing victim support services

I just can’t thank these people enough for the support they have given me. Because if I had not had that support, I don’t know how I would have got through that. So it means a lot to have that on the other end of a phone, people who care. If I can speak up, it helps other people to speak up. I’m not just talking about ASB, I’m talking about every aspect of my life. I’ve taken every piece of help that people have offered to me. And I just feel, if we can be heard... Something has to change, going on to the future. Because if it doesn’t, and these people think they can just get away with this behaviour, it’s just going to be absolutely horrific isn’t it? If they just think they can’t be punished for their behaviour, they are going to carry on and more people are going to suffer, and there are going to be more poor victims.

Message to agencies who deal with antisocial behaviour

Being serious with these people [who engage in antisocial behaviour]. Just letting them know, yes, you will lose your home if you carry on. I’m not asking for anybody to lose their home. I just don’t want to be abused when I walk out the front door. But then you’ve got the backlash see, with the police being up from family/friends of the perpetrators. The system just isn’t right, they have to start dealing with people who are not adhering to the rules.

The local council said they were ‘coming down on ASB and it wasn’t going to be tolerated’. And that hasn’t been the case. Words mean nothing, actions mean more.