Good Neighbours Scheme Success
January 18, 2009
Rhondda Cynon Taf Community Safety Partnership is celebrating the success of its unique approach to managing and resolving disputes between neighbours.
Often such conflicts can be seen as a bit of a “joke” bringing to mind sketches of neighbours fighting over garden boundaries and the height of trees.
However, as officers working to resolve the issue and those affected by it can testify, the impact of a neighbourhood disagreement can be significant, not only on the parties involved, but also the surrounding community, who can be drawn in.
As such, anti-social behaviour officers have developed a unique approach that sees mediation, discussion and agreement between the involved parties and the use of new Good Neighbour Contracts in a bid to manage issues.
They specifically tackle cases that have been ongoing for some time and are having a disproportionate impact on the quality of life of not only those directly involved, but also those who live nearby and get drawn into conflicts.
Cases dealt with include personal disputes, allegations of racist behaviour, noise nuisance, environmental health issues and more.
Their approach has been designed as a last-ditch attempt to secure cooperation on both sides without using legal intervention or prosecution.
The officers organise mediation sessions with involved parties, either at a neutral venue or in one of the neighbour’s homes, in order to discuss and investigate issues. They then get both sides to agree to a Good Neighbour Contract, which sets out the behaviour and responses expected from both sides in order to manage the issue and stop conflict.
While no one expects the neighbours to leave as best friends with the issue completely resolved, the best expectation is to ensure they agree to disagree and behave, and deal with arising issues, in a set way that reduces disorder and disruption.
Cllr John David, joint chair of the Community Safety Partnership and Cabinet Member for Communities, explained: “Often, neighbour disputes can be seen as a bit of a joke, bringing to mind comic images of fights over garden boundaries or barking dogs.
“But the fact is such disagreements occur across RCT and have a significant impact on the lives of not only neighbours, but also those in the surrounding community.
“No one expects everyone to be best friends with their neighbour, but there are certain standards of behaviour – and responses to issues – that we would expect.
“The mediation and conflict resolution work we are doing helps to set those standards and is often seen as a last resort before legal intervention. The contracts have made a difference to the quality of life of those who are involved and we hope this continues.”
Chief Inspector Richard Erskine, who heads Community Safety across RCT for South Wales Police, added: “Often, these conflicts are on the verge of needing legal intervention, which could include the charge and prosecution of one of both parties.
“We do not want that to happen and use the skills of the anti-social behaviour officers to see if we can work with those involved to bring about a resolution and acceptance that may not be achieved via court-issued punishments.
“This work is an important example of the innovation being used across the Community Safety Partnership as we work to deliver appropriate and effective solutions to quality of life issues.”
Those affected by such an issue are urged to raise it via their local neighbourhood policing team, housing officer, social worker or councillor.”
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