Behaviour policy

Anti-Social Behaviour Management – Policy and Process 

1. INTRODUCTION

This policy has been created to outline how Kaplan Living will manage licence agreements to minimise the impact and incidence of antisocial behaviour. As part of Kaplan Livings’ commitment to providing a safe, secure and supportive environment for residents, visitors and staff working within its residences, a consistent approach is required to deal with anti-social behaviour.

2. SCOPE

The Anti-Social Behaviour policy applies to all tenants of Kaplan Living. It confers responsibility on staff, students, contractors, visitors, consultants and those working under self-employed arrangements that interact with or live at a Kaplan Residence.

3. POLICY AIMS

Kaplan Living is committed to tackling antisocial behaviour in an effective manner, taking appropriate and proportionate action to create a balance between the prevention of anti-social behaviour and the enforcement of a students licence agreement. The Anti-Social policy was created in line with the Anti-Social Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 and The Guide to the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004.

4. DEFINITIONS

The Anti-Social Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 defines anti-social behaviour as “…any conduct (including speech) that causes, or is likely to cause, alarm or distress to one or more persons of the same household”

Kaplan Living means residences leased and managed by Kaplan International, including:

* Kaplan Living Old Dumbarton Road, Glasgow

* Kaplan Living Argyle Street, Glasgow

* Kaplan Living Nottingham

* Kaplan Living Bournemouth

* Kaplan Living Liverpool

* Kaplan Living Brighton

College means:

* Glasgow International College

* Nottingham Trent International College

* The University of Nottingham International College

* Bournemouth University International College

* Kaplan International English, Bournemouth

* University of Liverpool International College

* University of Brighton International College

5. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR CATEGORIES

Anti-Social behaviour can be categorised into workable groups i.e. the various types of complaints of tenant/resident anti-social behaviour that have been, or could be, reported to the Police or to the Residence Staff. However, this list is not intended to be exhaustive and anti-social behaviour may include any activity that causes, or is likely to cause, alarm or distress to one or more persons.

Group A: Disregard for Community and Personal Wellbeing:

• Noise – noisy neighbours, noisy cars/bikes, loud music, persistent alarms
• Rowdy Behaviour – shouting and swearing, fighting, drunken behaviour, hooliganism or loutish behaviour
• Nuisance Behaviour – urinating in public, fire raising, inappropriate use of fireworks, throwing missiles, climbing on buildings, impeding access to communal areas, playing games in restricted or inappropriate areas
• Hoax Calls – false call to the emergency services
• Tampering with Fire Safety equipment eg. Covering Smoke Detectors or tampering with Fire Extinguishers

Group B: Acts directed at People

• Intimidation and Harassment – groups or individuals making threats, verbal abuse, nasty or offensive letters, obscene or nuisance phone calls or text messages, menacing gestures. This type of behaviour may be motivated by race, age, culture, sex, sexual orientation, disability or religion.

Group C: Environmental Damage

• Criminal Damage/Vandalism – graffiti, damage to street furniture including bus shelters, telephone kiosks, buildings, trees, plants or hedge
• Litter and Rubbish – leaving litter and rubbish in communal areas, dropping litter, dumping rubbish

Group D: Misuse of Public Space

• Drugs & Substance Misuse/Dealing – taking drugs, solvents abuse, discarding needles and drug paraphernalia, presence of dealers or users
• Smoking in doors or outside of designated smoking areas
• Street Drinking
• Kerb Crawling – loitering, pestering residents
• Vehicle Related Nuisance & Inappropriate Vehicle Use

This shall include the use of private electric scooters (e-scooters) on Kaplan premises. Kaplan does not allow e-scooters on its premises which includes the interior and exterior. The consequences of being found in possession of an e-scooter on Kaplan premises are as follows (and is explicitly an exception to the reporting system detailed at section 7 below):

If you are found in possession of an e-scooter on Kaplan premises (which shall include storing or charging an e-scooter anywhere on Kaplan premises, including in your room), you will be issued with a written notice to dispose of the e-scooter within 24 hours of receipt of that notice. If you do not dispose of the e-scooter within those 24 hours, Kaplan reserves the right to confiscate the e-scooter and, at Kaplan’s sole discretion, make suitable arrangements to dispose of it. Once confiscated, an e-scooter will not be returned to you. Students are reminded that e-scooters may be a serious fire hazard. For the avoidance of doubt, Kaplan also does not allow use of public e-scooters (for example, Voi e-scooters) on its premises.

6. REPORTING ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

If a tenant sees or is subject to any Anti-Social Behaviour, it should be reported to the Kaplan Living Staff immediately. Each Kaplan Residence shall have clearly communicated reporting mechanisms available to any tenants and staff. All complaints of Anti-Social Behaviour will be processed in accordance with this Policy.

7. APPROACH AND METHOD

Matters which are found to fall within Anti-Social Behaviour will be dealt with in a three tier reporting system. The three tiers are defined below as GREEN, AMBER and RED. This is to be implemented alongside the monitoring of customer behaviour and should be strictly adhered to regardless of the time scales involved between each incident.

GREEN:

An incident which should be considered under the Green category includes offences which are brief in nature and cause little to no distress or inconvenience to other persons. Incidents which should be considered a Green incident include but are not limited to: drunken behaviour, smoking or playing loud music.

If a complaint is received, an incident occurs, or staff are made aware of anti-social behaviour:

Kaplan Livings will consider if a conversation with the individuals(s) involved is sufficient. The conversation will always be followed up by a letter to confirm the actions agreed and a record will be kept on the student’s file.

If staff feel the disturbance is of such a nature that a conversation is not sufficient or this is not the first time the student has caused a disturbance which may be considered anti-social, the Residence shall follow the procedure outlined below at Section 7.2.3.

A meeting between the General Manager and the student will be held to discuss the complaint/incident. The Manager and the student will agree any remedial actions which need to be addressed, which may include [the student paying a damage charge, apologising to any affected staff or students, or signing an affirmative declaration to avoid future incidents of anti-social behaviour.] A letter detailing the outcome of the meeting or a meeting acknowledgement letter (if established that the claims were unsubstantiated) will be sent to the student and kept on the Student’s file.

AMBER:

An incident which should be considered under the Amber category includes offences which may include repeated offences, those disruptions which are more sustained in nature, and cause significant disruption and inconvenience to other residents or staff.

If an incident falls within the Amber category, an Amber meeting will be held to discuss complaint/incident and establish if the suspected behaviour took place. If it is established that the behaviour took place, the student will be issued with a letter detailing any remedial actions required, including up to a final warning that the next incident will result in eviction proceedings starting.  The Manager and the student will agree any remedial actions which need to be addressed, which may include [the student paying a damage charge, apologising to any affected staff or students, or signing an affirmative declaration to avoid future incidents of anti-social behaviour.] The Head of Kaplan Living (or their representative) may also be invited to attend this meeting. A letter detailing the outcome of the meeting and reiterating the final warning or a meeting acknowledgement letter is sent to the student. A copy of the letter will be kept in the Student’s file.

RED:

An incident which should be considered under the Red category includes offences which are repeated, severely disrupt and provide significant inconvenience to other residents or staff, those incidents which are illegal in nature, and any incident which may pose a health or safety risk to other residents and staff.

During a potential Red incident, staff will immediately assess whether any students or staff are in danger and if the incident requires staff to contact the appropriate local authorities. If staff feels there is an imminent threat, staff will work to ensure all students and staff are placed in a secure environment, authorities are contacted as necessary, and a Red Alert is sent as outlined in the 60 Minute Rule Policy.

If the incident causes no imminent threat to staff or students, however the incident potentially violated local laws or statutes, the General Manager in consultation with the Head of Kaplan Living will determine whether it is appropriate to contact local police to report the incident.

When appropriate, staff will also invite the student to a meeting with General Manager and the Head of Kaplan Living (or their representative). The General Manager will outline the alleged incident and provide any supporting documentation or witness statements to the student. The student will have an opportunity to refute or explain the incident at the meeting.

The Head of Kaplan Living and the General Manager will review the evidence and statements and make a decision as to the appropriate remedial action, up to and including eviction from the premises. A letter will be provided to the student detailing the findings of the meeting and the outcome within 5 business days of the meeting.

If the decision has been made to evict the student, a notice will be issued in England in line with the terms of the licence agreement. This notice will include details the grounds.

If the resident also attends a Kaplan Pathways College course then the College may determine that the student’s activity at the Kaplan Residences is also a violation of the College’s Code of Conduct. If so, the activity and any potential penalty regarding the student’s enrolment at the College will be reviewed under the Code of Conduct.

8. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

Kaplan shall apply this policy in accordance with its Equal Opportunities Policy. This means that in the application of this policy, we will not discriminate on the grounds of a persons’ race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, cultural background, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability.