'We are very much taking a zero-tolerance stance' - Council's out of hours team working to stamp out anti-social behaviour across Dudley
A specialist team working to investigate complaints and incidents of anti-social behaviour has revealed how many calls it received across 2025.
More than 1,300 calls reporting anti-social behaviour were fielded last year by Dudley Council’s dedicated out of hours team.
The five-strong team, which share 6pm-2am shifts all year round, carried out more than 1,700 visits to homes to investigate complaints or to witness anti-social behaviour first hand.
Dudley Council said the officers deal with a whole range of issues from noise nuisance, which includes dogs barking or loud music, to verbal abuse or racial hatred.
Their work assists investigations for ongoing cases and as well as responding to calls, the out of hours team completes nightly patrols of council-owned blocks of flats and parks with a history of anti-social behaviour to resolve issues and diminish tensions.
The latest figures are from January 2025 to the end of December last year.
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of the council, said: “Anti-social behaviour of any kind can ruin lives and is simply not acceptable.
“We have made it a priority of the council to tackle this, and we are very much taking a zero-tolerance stance.
“These figures show that approach, like anti-social behaviour itself, extends beyond normal working hours.
“Our out of hours team is doing an outstanding job responding to concerns from residents and alleviating tensions and issues where possible.
“Some issues cannot be resolved, and I want to make clear in those cases that we will not hesitate to use our enforcement powers and take persistent offenders to court if necessary.
“We currently have a number of cases going through the legal system, and will continue to do all we can to assist residents who need our help.”
The latest figures come after it was revealed nine out of ten residents who have complained to Dudley Council about anti-social behaviour this year are happy with the way the authority has tackled the issue.
It represents an increase on the 47 per cent who were satisfied with the way their complaint was dealt with between April 2022 and March 2023.
People can report anti-social behaviour out of hours by calling 0300 555 2345 and selecting option 1.
