If you want information about anti-social behaviour, ask Bill.
Bill Pitt, one of the UK’s leading experts on the issue, has become a website oracle on the topic of anti-social behaviour as a key feature of Manchester City Council’s second 100 day campaign, Manchester Challenge 2005, launched on February 14 with the message Love Manchester? Improve It!
‘Ask Bill’ is the title of the website feature and any Manchester resident with access to a computer can contact Bill at www.manchester.gov.uk/housing.
What they say
“It’s another way of spreading information about tackling anti-social behaviour,” said Bill, who heads the City Council’s Nuisance Strategy Team and is currently one of eight ‘Asbo Ambassadors’ touring the UK spreading expertise on the issue on behalf of the Home Office’s Anti-Social Behaviour Unit. “The website service is primarily for Manchester residents and their queries will get priority. We intend to give a really high profile to all the ways we’re tackling anti-social behaviour in the city and what you as a resident can do about it.”
The Executive Member for Housing on Manchester City Council, Councillor Eddy Newman, said: “It is vital that we get information out to people on the various ways of tackling anti-social behaviour. Bill Pitt is an acknowledged authority on dealing with anti-social behaviour and we could not have a better person for residents to refer to. We are proud of our leading role in Manchester and we have a tremendous amount of expertise to share.”
The ‘Ask Bill’ website will be advertised in libraries where visitors can access it via publicly-available computers. The website can also be accessed via computers based at tenants group facilities and Internet cafes.
The theme of the latest challenge is environmental anti-social behaviour – noise, litter, graffiti and so on – plus related issues.
Manchester claims it is the most active local authority in the UK in the field of anti-social behaviour, not just tackling anti-social behaviour but its root causes by working with families in trouble and developing a city-wide parenting strategy.
The Nuisance Strategy Team and the City Council’s Mediation Service, which uses trained volunteers to help settle disputes between neighbours, are celebrating their 10th anniversaries this year.
The Challenge Manchester website links to the Home Office’s Anti-Social Behaviour Unit website and contains information on all aspects of the campaign, which lasts until late May.
