THE BENEFIT OF USING PROFESSIONAL WITNESSES

In last month's newsletter Sheron Hall from Consillium Housing wrote concerning various issues within the Anti Social Behaviour arena.

In this month and the following newsletters we will examine the benefits of using Professional Witnesses as a viable resource to assist with dealing with anti-social behaviour. To support our views and those of our clients we will look at a range of the resources and techniques available.
It is all too evident that the society in which we live today has become more and more violent and intolerant. Whilst it is not really my place here to give opinions and reasons, the fact is that the rises cause more issues of anti-social behaviour amongst our diverse communities.
There is often issues of ignorance, I find, that can lead to anti-social behaviour being directed at families or individuals as the offender(s) are often ignorant to the plight and position of others who are clearly less fortunate than themselves.

As investigators we see that those individuals who cause the main body of anti-social behaviour are often the ones who are given a greater chance in society with support and various benefits, and not just financial benefits.

Television programmes over the last few years have depicted and portrayed families and individuals in such a manner that the very programme itself attracts the viewing of a section of the population who will want to replicate the behaviour of those actors and actresses and even encourage current offender(s) to almost ‘up the anti', that it increases their poor and criminal behaviour.

It is my opinion that the current credit crisis may increase the level of anti-social behaviour as families may be displaced from their homes and find they are relocated in an environment which is very unfamiliar to them. Will this make them an easy target to those who are unruly in society or will the credit crunch cause general unrest which will increase the opportunity for unrest to turn to aggression?

History has shown us that unrest in one sector of society can be the catalyst for various sectors of society to use this as an excuse to cause harassment, alarm, distress, assault and even riots on our estates. It was only 2 years ago that in France there were running battles between sectors of society and the Police which were nightly for 3 weeks.

Those working within the anti-social behaviour sector know how difficult it can be to gather evidence as most witnesses and / or residents do not want to come forward for fear of reprisals, violence and intimidation.

Again, almost weekly in local or regional news we hear about a person being assaulted or even being killed, as in the Gary Newlove case for trying to stop individuals damaging property, or trying to break up an assault or by trying to stop a mugging. This fear is expanded as the gang culture continues to develop and encourage more people who by the nature of the gangs are encouraged to commit crime and be violent and aggressive.

Our experience has found that there is only a certain amount that Anti-Social Behaviour and Housing Officers can do with such cases and then they need the support of maybe an external organisation.

With our vast experience as Professional Witnesses we can help and advise you through those difficult cases. Some options are simple and some are longer and more protracted.

Expert Investigations have several advantages over Anti-Social Behaviour and Housing Officers…and also your tenants.

• Firstly we cannot be intimidated and are always happy to give evidence in court
• Secondly we have all manner of skills and equipment to cover all of your issues
• We have a fleet of observations vehicles, camera systems and staff who can live in void properties unnoticed or move in properties as new tenants
• We can simply be engaged to help you on an ad hoc basis with those isolated cases you find you have difficulty in dealing with by way of gathering sufficient evidence

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article over the next few weeks we will look at techniques used, operational cases studies and our available equipment.

In the meantime if you would like to discuss any issues please contact us on 0800 169 4368 or email davidkearns@expert-investigations.co.uk