Special court orders have been secured by Barrow Borough Council to protect residents from the impacts of anti-social behaviour.
Four anti-social behaviour injunctions have been issued by the courts in eight months to curb the unacceptable actions of individuals in the borough.
A further order has been prepared should a recorded case of anti-social behaviour continue in the future.
The number represents an increase on the previous 12 months when three special court orders were sought and secured.
Lee Roberts, Barrow Borough Council deputy leader and the authority’s lead member for housing strategy, said: “I’m extremely glad these orders are in place to protect residents who have every right to to feel safe in their homes and to live their lives in peace.
“It can’t be underestimated, however, just how much work goes into preparing a case for the courts in order to secure an ASB injunction.
“Barrow Borough Council’s estate management team has worked tirelessly in liaison with the authority’s Public Protection Team and partner agencies to get this excellent result in a matter of months.
“The message here is loud and clear – anti-social behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated in our borough.”
Anti-social behaviour is classed as behaviour that causes, or is capable of causing harassment, alarm or distress to someone.
Preparing the cases for the four injunctions involved hundreds of hours of work to gather evidence, compile the necessary paperwork and to liaise with partner agencies such as Cumbria Police, local GPs and support agencies.
The council teams also provided crucial ongoing support to vulnerable residents as they pursued the legal action.
Much of this work would normally take place in person.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic council officers had to adapt their services to gather evidence in a more agile way – making the most of technology and convening meetings online.
Coun Roberts added: “It’s well known that concerns around anti-social behaviour have risen across the country since the start of the pandemic.
“People are at the heart everything we do as a council and dealing with anti-social behaviour is an important part of our work.
“We strive to deal with issues before they become a more serious problem in a compassionate way to identify and address the root cause.
“Sometimes, however, we need to pursue legal action.
“Where this is necessary, we will gather evidence to seek special court orders to ensure the safety of all of our residents.
“We all want our neighbourhoods to be safe and enjoyable places to live.
“Our communities should be places where people can rely on their neighbours and where people are willing and able to challenge bad behaviour knowing they will be supported by each other, the borough council, ward members, the police and their MP.”
