Reducing the time taken to close noise investigations by over 80%

Introduction

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Team has been in existence since 2008. The team’s role was primarily to investigate all incidents of reported ASB within the private sector. In addition, the city council owns around 19,000 properties, and prior to January 2022, generic housing officers were responsible for investigating ASB.

Noise nuisance complaints account for around 40% of all complaints, and it was clear that noise investigation needed a robust review due to the length of time that cases were open. On average, cases on the private sector ASB team took 170 days to close.

The main challenges were that ASB officers had not received good-quality training for a number of years. Cases were allowed to be left open, and complainants would refuse to let officers close cases.

Challenges

In relation to noise investigations, the private ASB team would use manual diary sheets for complainants to report incidents. This type of practice presented several issues:

• Complainants were not shown in any detail how to complete the diary sheet, either ignoring it or completing it in too much or too little detail.

• In many cases, officers would have to attend complainants' home addresses to collect the diary sheets, which would sometimes take multiple attempts adding travel costs to the cost of investigations.

• The officers always worked in accordance with the threshold to prove statutory noise nuisance, but they could also have used the housing-related ASB interpretation from the ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which works to a lower threshold, as specified in the definition of nuisance or annoyance.

• Because cases were not dealt with effectively, there was clear evidence of a proportion of them being raised again with the team for reinvestigation.

• A combination of the above led to a number of dissatisfied customers regularly submitting corporate complaints.

Solutions

A new experienced ASB manager was recruited by the authority in September 2018. This person had a policing and housing association background and had experience in dealing with a wide range of ASB complaints including noise investigations.

The new manager was conversant with The Noise App, having previously introduced its use in a housing association environment, and could see real benefits in its implementation in Stoke-on-Trent. In the manager's previous role, The Noise App had transformed how noise investigations were conducted.

In May 2019, The Noise App was implemented within Stoke-on-Trent and the old diary sheets ceased to be used unless a customer had no access to a smartphone. Following a period of training and careful implementation, all noise investigations on the private ASB Team were conducted via The Noise App.

The benefits to the customer and the investigating officers were immediate and streamlined the investigations, saving lots of time. Investigating officers were able to effectively triage cases quickly and efficiently and establish if the noise being reported was reasonable or unreasonable.

"The Noise App has revolutionised how noise complaints are investigated by Stoke-on-Trent City Council ASB Team.”

- Steve Williams Operational, Lead ASB Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Achievements

The implementation of The Noise App within Stoke- on-Trent City Council has revolutionised how noise complaints are investigated. The app has been used on several occasions to secure civil injunctions, and judges approve of this type of evidence. The app has also been used effectively to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.

Recordings can be used to assist social services and domestic abuse investigations. The app really does save lives. In January 2022, the private sector ASB team merged with eight generic housing officers to set up a tenure-neutral service across the city. The Noise App is now being used for all council-owned housing too and has shown immediate benefits.

Conclusions

Making a Difference

Implementing The Noise App in Stoke-on-Trent has made such a significant difference to how noise investigations are

Ease of Use

Customers find the app easy to use and ASB officers have found that it streamlines their investigations and allows them to make clear decisions around cases.

Satisfaction

Since using The Noise App, customer satisfaction levels have increased and corporate complaints have significantly reduced.

Efficiency

Research conducted around the private sector ASB team shows that prior to implementation, the average time to close a case was 170 days. Looking at the 2020–21 period, the average time to close a case was just 31 days.

Economy

The Noise App saves the authority a significant amount of time and money, and there is no way they would ever want to return to their old ways of dealing with noise complaints.