Police handling of third-party reports in England and Wales

A FixASB notification should be assessed according to the circumstances reported. Depending on its contents, it may constitute a report of an incident, a third-party report of suspected crime, an anti-social behaviour incident or information relevant to local policing and community safety.

The fact that information has been submitted electronically through FixASB does not, in itself, alter the applicable crime or incident-recording requirements.

Reports received from third parties

Police forces in England and Wales operate under the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) and the Home Office Crime Recording Rules (HOCR).

The current 2026/27 Home Office rules (opens external site) provide that all reports of incidents - whether from victims, witnesses or third parties, and whether crime-related or not - should, unless immediately recorded as a crime, result in an auditable incident report being registered by police.

This is important for reports received through FixASB. A notification should not simply fall outside police recording processes because it has arrived by email, through an intermediary or from somebody other than the direct victim.

College of Policing guidance (opens external site) similarly describes an incident record as a communication from any person, by whatever means, about a matter coming to police attention which is required by the National Standard for Incident Recording to be recorded.

Where the information may disclose a crime

For a victim-related notifiable offence, the NCRS test is whether, on the balance of probabilities:

• the circumstances reported amount to a crime defined by law; and

• there is no credible evidence immediately available to the contrary.

A belief by the victim, or someone reasonably assumed to be acting on their behalf, that a crime has occurred will usually be sufficient for recording purposes.

The purpose of crime recording is distinct from the subsequent investigation. The current rules expressly state that crime recording must not be delayed in order to carry out an investigation. Once sufficient information exists to meet the recording test, a crime should ordinarily be recorded on the same day and no later than 24 hours after the initial report.

Accordingly, a FixASB issue should be considered on the underlying facts rather than simply by reference to the broad category of “anti-social behaviour”.

For example, a report that a bus shelter has deliberately had its glass smashed may disclose criminal damage. The current HOCR includes “Other criminal damage” for incidents not falling within its residential, business/community-building or vehicle classifications. The general rule is one crime for each owner of the damaged property.

By contrast, where apparent damage is non-permanent, easily removed at no cost and with little effort, HOCR directs police to record an incident under NSIR rather than a crime.

An important distinction about “third-party reports”

The expression third-party report requires some care under the Home Office rules.

HOCR recognises a particular category of reports from people such as doctors, nurses, teachers and social workers acting professionally on behalf of victims, as well as parents and carers acting for children, young people or adults at risk. Where their status and the veracity of the report are not in doubt, such reports must ordinarily be recorded as crimes irrespective of whether the victim subsequently confirms the offence.

A FixASB notification does not automatically acquire that special status merely because FixASB has transmitted it.

Instead, in many cases FixASB will be forwarding an ordinary third-party or witness report. HOCR states that other third-party reports made on behalf of victims should not ordinarily be recorded as a crime without victim confirmation unless recording without that confirmation is considered appropriate or necessary.

That distinction should not, however, result in the report being disregarded.

Where the victim has not confirmed the offence

Where police have grounds to suspect that a victim-related crime has taken place but the victim - or somebody reasonably assumed to be acting for them - cannot immediately be identified or found, HOCR requires the matter to be recorded as a crime-related incident while attempts are made to establish the position.

This may commonly arise with FixASB reports concerning public or privately owned infrastructure.

For example, a resident may report that:

• a council-owned bench has been deliberately damaged;

• the glass in a transport shelter has been smashed;

• commercial property has been repeatedly vandalised; or

• street furniture has been deliberately destroyed.

The member of the public discovering or witnessing the damage will not necessarily be the legal owner of the property. That does not mean that no record should be created. An appropriate auditable incident record should be made and the crime-recording position assessed under NCRS and HOCR.

If the owner subsequently confirms the offence, the normal crime-recording test can be applied.

Recording without victim confirmation

HOCR also contains an important exception to the normal requirement for victim confirmation.

Where police consider that there is clear evidence or significant grounds showing that a crime against an identifiable victim has been committed, and that recording it is appropriate or necessary, the force must record the crime.

The rules identify purposes including enabling an effective investigation, apprehending an offender or recording where doing so is otherwise in the public interest. This can include cases where the victim cannot be found or declines to confirm the offence.

Consequently, the absence of immediate confirmation from an asset owner should not be treated as an absolute prohibition on crime recording.

Police should consider the information actually available: photographs, video, eyewitness evidence, the nature of the damage, repeat incidents, identifiable ownership and any wider investigative or public-interest considerations.

Photographs and video

FixASB reports may contain photographs or video footage.

HOCR makes clear that CCTV, dashcam and similar video evidence does not, by itself, constitute a qualifying third-party report for a victim-based crime. Reasonable enquiries should nevertheless be made to establish the facts and identify victims or offenders, and an auditable record must as a minimum be maintained.

There is an important difference between:

“Here is a photograph showing a damaged bus shelter.”

and:

“I witnessed two people deliberately smash this bus shelter at approximately 22:15, and this photograph shows the resulting damage.”

In the second example, the photograph supports a witness report rather than constituting the entirety of the information supplied.

FixASB therefore encourages police officers and staff to consider the reporter's accompanying account alongside any photographic or video evidence.

Anti-social behaviour which is not a notifiable crime

Not every report of anti-social behaviour amounts to a notifiable offence.

Police-recorded ASB incidents are governed by the National Standard for Incident Recording (NSIR) (opens external site). The current published standard places particular emphasis on risk assessment, vulnerability, repeat victims and problem-solving rather than simply categorising individual calls.

NSIR uses three principal ASB categories:

• Personal - behaviour targeted at, or having a particular impact upon, an individual or group;

• Nuisance - behaviour causing trouble, annoyance, inconvenience or suffering to the community more generally; and

• Environmental - behaviour affecting people's surroundings and the natural, built or social environment.

These categories are particularly relevant to FixASB because many reports concern persistent problems affecting shared public spaces.

NSIR also emphasises that the appropriate response should follow from an assessment of risk rather than simply from the category attached to the incident. Its purpose includes identifying repeat victims, vulnerable people and recurring locations or environmental problems.

A report which does not meet the threshold for recording a notifiable crime may therefore still be significant as an ASB incident, particularly when considered alongside earlier reports from the same location.

Anti-social behaviour legislation

The principal statutory framework remains the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (opens external site), as subsequently amended.

For the purposes of Part 1 of that Act, anti-social behaviour includes conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress, together with specified forms of nuisance or annoyance associated with residential premises and housing.

The current Home Office statutory guidance stresses a victim-focused and problem-solving approach and is directed to police, local authorities and other bodies exercising powers under the Act. It recognises that persistent ASB can have a substantial effect on victims and communities and that agencies should work together to identify appropriate solutions.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 makes further changes to the ASB framework. Some provisions have already come into force, while others are to be commenced by regulations. Police forces should therefore apply the legislation and Home Office guidance in force at the relevant time.

Repeat reports and ASB case reviews

It is particularly important that separate reports of persistent ASB are capable of being linked.

Under the statutory ASB Case Review arrangements, formerly known as the Community Trigger, victims of persistent ASB can require relevant agencies to review their response where the locally published threshold is met.

Police are one of the relevant bodies participating in that process. Current Home Office guidance states that the threshold must be no higher than three qualifying complaints, although local arrangements may adopt a lower threshold. Importantly, the threshold concerns the reports that have been made, not whether an agency responded to them.

This reinforces the value of accurately recording repeat incidents and locations, even where an individual report does not result in enforcement action.

Working with local authorities and other partners

Anti-social behaviour is deliberately a multi-agency field.

The 2014 Act gives the police, local authorities and other agencies a range of complementary powers, while the Home Office statutory guidance emphasises local partnership working.

Where a FixASB notification identifies an issue for which another agency has the primary operational responsibility, this need not mean the information is of no value to police.

The NSIR itself provides that where information is first reported to police but is properly a matter for another agency, it should be risk-assessed and sufficient information obtained to enable an appropriate referral.

Persistent reports about one place may also provide relevant information about repeat offending, vulnerable victims, disorder, community tensions or an emerging local problem even where another organisation is responsible for repairing or maintaining the affected asset.

Maintaining an auditable recording decision

FixASB does not seek to determine whether a crime has occurred. That remains a matter for the receiving police force applying the relevant law, NCRS and HOCR.

What the national recording standards do require, however, is an auditable process.

Where a report is not immediately recorded as a crime, an appropriate incident record should ordinarily exist. Where a report of crime is considered and the decision is taken not to record a crime, the current HOCR additionally requires an auditable record of that decision and says that the victim or person reporting must be informed. The person can provide further supporting information or appeal the recording decision.

FixASB therefore asks forces, wherever practicable, to provide the incident or crime reference allocated to a notification.

A practical approach to FixASB notifications

When a FixASB notification is received, we suggest the following sequence:

1. Create an auditable record. Unless immediately recorded as a crime, consider the requirement for an incident record under NCRS/NSIR.

2. Consider whether the facts disclose a notifiable offence. Do not assume that an issue categorised as “ASB” is necessarily non-criminal.

3. Identify the status of the reporter and victim. Is the reporter the victim, acting on behalf of the victim, an eyewitness or another third party?

4. Where victim confirmation is absent, apply the HOCR rules. Consider whether a crime-related incident should be recorded and whether recording without confirmation is appropriate or necessary.

5. Consider supporting evidence. This may include photographs, video, eyewitness accounts, dates, times and evidence of repetition.

6. If no notifiable crime is recorded, consider ASB and other policing purposes. Assess risk, vulnerability, repetition, the location and any relevant intelligence or community-safety considerations.

7. Consider partnership action. Where another agency is better placed to address the immediate issue, consider appropriate referral while retaining relevant police information where required.

8. Link repeat reports where possible and provide an appropriate reference.

FixASB's purpose is not to substitute its judgement for that of police officers and staff. It is to help members of the public provide structured, useful information about persistent crime and anti-social behaviour and to ensure that information can contribute to an accurate picture of what is happening in local places.

This guidance reflects the Home Office Crime Recording Rules for frontline officers and staff 2026/27, the National Crime Recording Standard, the National Standard for Incident Recording, the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 as amended, current Home Office statutory ASB guidance, and relevant provisions of the Crime and Policing Act 2026.