Community Trigger

The Community Trigger allows victims of repeated anti-social behaviour to ask for their case to be reviewed. 

It was brought in as part of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. 

A review looks at every aspect of a case to see if all available and appropriate actions took place. It does not look at complaints against people who were involved in a case. 

The Fenland Community Safety Partnership (CSP) are involved in the process. During a case review, the agencies involved in the original investigations will account for their actions. The Police and Crime Commissioner also has an independent role. They will oversee the reviews, report on the applications made and number of cases investigated. 

Community Trigger applications

Applications must meet local conditions. In Fenland, these are:

• the investigation into the anti-social behaviour has finished
• the first report of anti-social behaviour was made within one month of the alleged behaviour taking place
• the first report was made after April 2014
• there have been 3 or more reports of anti-social behaviour in the last 6 months
• the alleged incidents have all been reported to an agency e.g the Police, FDC, Circle Housing

Applications can be made by the victim or someone acting on their behalf. Written consent is needed from the victim if the application is made by a third party. 

To apply, complete the Community Trigger Application form. Please provide as much information as possible. Once completed:

• email it to communitytrigger@fenland.gov.uk; or
• post it to Community Trigger Lead, Fenland District Council, Fenland Hall, County Road, March, Cambs, PE15 8NQ

After your application

The form will be checked to see if it meets the local conditions. You may be asked to give more information. 

If your application doesn't meet the local conditions then it cannot be taken forward for review. We will explain why and offer you advice.

If your application does meet the local conditions, we will send you a letter with a reference number. Your application will be reviewed by an independent review panel. They will consider:

• whether actions taken were reasonable and appropriate
• if further actions could have been taken to resolve the case
• what outcomes were achieved
• if anything more can be done which would deliver positive outcomes to the case

The panel will keep you up to date with what is happening at each stage. 

As the process finishes, you will be invited to a closure meeting with the Community Trigger lead. You will be asked about your experience of the Community Trigger and if you accept the decisions made about your application. 

If you do not accept the outcome, you will be given details about how to make an appeal. Requests are held by the Independent Appeal Panel. 

Annual publication of data

The table below shows the number of applications received by the Fenland Community Safety Partnership (CSP):