Web-based Sentinel helps to tackle anti-social behaviour

Charnwood Borough Council has joined forces with Leicestershire Police to launch a pioneering three-year pilot designed to give a more integrated and strategic approach to tackling anti-social behaviour, using a central web-based database enabling Council officers to share information for a co-ordinated, multi-agency approach.

Sentinel, the web-based incident management tool from Vantage Technologies, enables staff at Charnwood to share information about ASB incidents quickly and effectively with other agencies and key partners, including Leicestershire Police, local housing associations, the primary care trust, youth offending services and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, through a common software application.

Before Sentinel was installed, the Council, the police, housing associations and other agencies involved in the management and reporting of anti-social behaviour, all had their own individual in-house systems. This prevented information being shared automatically with all interested parties.
For example, incidents relating to housing might need to be shared with youth offending teams and the police so that each party could take appropriate action to resolve the issue and support residents.

These disparate systems were simplistic and labour-intensive, meaning that incident reporting was often duplicated by the individual agencies, leading to inefficiencies and unnecessary administration in each department. This duplication also led to double-counting incidents, giving an inaccurate reflection on anti-social behaviour in the area.

Sentinel streamlines the process of reporting and monitoring complaints and incidents of ASB across the Borough, reducing duplication and unnecessary administration. All agencies involved in ASB management have secure access to a central database, ensuring that everyone who needs to know is made aware of incidents logged and the action that they are required to take. The system’s inbuilt search and reporting tools enable users to access relevant and timely information to ensure effective and proactive management of both victim and alleged offender.

Wendy Brown, Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator at Charnwood Borough Council, said: “Sentinel will help us to deliver a more co-ordinated approach to anti-social behaviour across the Borough and ensure that information is more readily available to all agencies involved in tackling the issue.

“Tackling anti-social behaviour demands a true multi-agency approach. Being able share information effectively with the police, fire service, Youth Services and other local agencies through Sentinel allows for proactive management and a more preventative approach across the borough.
“In addition, Sentinel gives us the opportunity to extend this approach beyond anti-social behaviour and tackle other incidents, such as racism, hate crime and bullying within our schools. It’s an exciting pilot, and if successful, we hope to encourage use of the service across the whole of Leicestershire.”