<p><br /> Communities were blighted by around 14 million incidents of anti-social behaviour last year, according to new figures.<br /> </p><p><br /> Around 3.5 million calls, about 45 per cent of all calls to police, were related to anti-social behaviour (ASB), but experts believe only a quarter of such incidents were reported.<br /> </p><p><br /> Sir Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, said that while police often do not see tackling anti-social behaviour as "real policing", for the public it was no different from other crimes.<br /> </p><p><br /> "For them, it's just a sliding scale of grief," he said. "The core difficulty in developing a coherent response to ASB is the breadth of the term and the fact that it means different things to different people and organisations.<br /> </p><p><br /> "For victims of ASB, the experience tends to be a cumulative, corrosive issue that undermines their ability to live in peace ... Those who suffer ASB experience varied levels of harm.<br /> </p><p><br /> "But in nearly all cases, repeat victims experience far higher levels of impact ... This is exacerbated and amplified for repeat victims who define themselves as disabled and/or suffer ill-health."<br /> </p><p><br /> Rowdy, noisy or inconsiderate behaviour accounted for the "overwhelming majority" of reported events, with 2.1 million calls making up 61 per cent of all incidents of anti-social behaviour.<br /> </p>
