Guidance on completing Anti-Social Behaviour diary sheets

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Incident diaries are issued to residents who are suffering from Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) in their community. The diaries will show a log of the anti-social behaviour that is occurring, how often it is happening, how it is affecting you and possible identification of the perpetrators.

Incident diaries are an essential record of events and feelings, which will be used if we are to take further action. We cannot take any action against perpetrators unless there is community intelligence to support this.

All information contained in this diary will be kept confidential from other residents.

How to keep the incident diary

Most incidents of ASB can be solved without taking serious action. If the situation continues then we will take action against perpetrators with sufficient evidence, using the legal powers we have available to us.

To take legal action we need a detailed written log describing every incident. A court will only accept this incident diary if it is written in this format.

1. This diary is your own personal record of what you see or hear. You cannot write down something that other people (including your wife, husband or partner) have witnessed. They must keep their own diary.
2. You must fill in the diary as soon as possible after the incident, while it is still fresh in your mind. If possible complete the diary on the same day. If you record the incident a while after it happened then a court might not accept it.
3. Fill in one form for each separate incident. If there is a second incident on the same day or night, start a new form. Put your signature and the date at the bottom of each form. Please let us know if you run out of sheets and need a new diary as soon as possible.
4. Write down everything you see and hear in as much detail as possible. A general summary is not taken as seriously by the court as word for word evidence. So you will have to include any swear words that may have been used. This is much more effective in court than “he used abusive language”. It can be very upsetting to recall incidents, but in order for us to take action then you will have to do this if the evidence is to be used in court. If you are able to provide descriptions of those involved, please do so, including descriptions of clothing.
5. You must sign the declaration on the back of each form when you have filled it in.

Once you have completed your incident diary, please return it to the Anti Social Behaviour Team at the following address:

Anti-Social Behaviour Team
Reading Police Station
Castle Street
Reading
RG1 7TH