Post 82 – 9/03/25 – Problem No.3 – Managing Anti-Social Behaviour/ Noise In The Street (10 Minute Read)

+ Introduction

This is the third in a series of posts that looks at possible solutions to the problems caused by Royal Holloway’s expansion. 

As before, the problem will be identified and a proposed solution/s presented.

Please note that this post looks explicitly at managing Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)/ Noise in the street. It does not look at ASB/ Noise from student HMOs. EG Parties. Though they are similar problems, they are in fact different and require slightly different solutions. (We will look at this particular problem in a later Post.)

As before, you are then invited to discuss the problem and the proposed solution in WNTTARH’s WhatsApp group, Forum. (See link to this group in the footnote.)

+ Definition & Identification

– ASB in the street, which can include noise and rowdy behaviour, can be alarming for both local and student residents alike.

– The majority of ASB occurs (but not exclusively) at night.

– The majority of ASB is caused by students returning home after a night out. 

– Alcohol is often a contributory factor.

– ASB can be particularly prevalent in areas where there are high densities of student HMOs. It also occurs near PBSA and on the main thoroughfares from campus to PBSA/ student HMOs.

– ASB can also be borne from house parties where the party spills into the street. It can also be caused by students moving between house parties/ student HMOs.

– The ASB problem is particularly acute on nights when the RHSU has late night events. EG Wednesdays.

– Surrey Police is the agency responsible for managing ASB in the street.

– Surrey Police claims that ASB is not a low level crime and can have a huge impact on communities and individuals. They encourage reporting so that they can work with their partners to tackle and resolve the issues.

– The problem has been described as ‘difficult to manage’ and ‘complex’ by Royal Holloway’s Community Wellbeing Team.

– Many residents never receive a satisfactory resolution to incidents reported and feel that Surrey Police/ Royal Holloway have all but given up trying to manage the issue.

– A culture of not reporting incidents now exists. (The problems with reporting will be looked at in the next Post.)

– Residents subsequently live with the ASB problem and the misery it can cause.

– It is worth noting that in July 2021, Ben Spencer MP recognised the frustrations of dealing with management at Royal Holloway and also expressed that Royal Holloway had a ‘Duty Of Care’ to residents.

+ Proposed Solutions

🚨 Reactive | 24/ 7 Telephone Hotline

– RHUL to attend the location of an ASB complaint as soon as it occurs and dispense advice to students/ collect evidence for RHUL and to record the incident with Surrey Police.

🚨 Preemptive | CCTV

– RHUL to identify ASB Hotspots (Royal Holloway and Surrey Police have a Memorandum Of Understanding. A MOU is a formal agreement of how one or more organisations will work together. Here, one of these agreements was sharing data) and use CCTV to act as a deterrent/ collect evidence for RHUL.

🚨 Preemptive | Security Patrols

– RHUL to identify ASB Hotspots and use Patrols to act as a deterrent/ collect evidence for RHUL.

+ Rationale

– A 24/ 7 Hotline will make reporting easy and a prompt response by Royal Holloway would lead to a higher likelihood of resolution being achieved.

– Though ASB in the street falls under Surrey Police’s remit, other universities, including Worcester University, deploy their security into the community to tackle student ASB.

+ Conclusion

Though Royal Holloway has described the problem of ASB in the street as ‘difficult to manage’ and ‘complex’, other universities and towns are successfully tackling the problem. 

If RHUL is not inclined to adopt the Worcester model, they could perhaps look towards Bristol. Here the University of Bristol finances Avon & Somerset Police to respond to incidents and to conduct additional patrols.

Regardless of the route chosen, we feel that there is a need for a dedicated team that understands the student ASB issue in Egham and Englefield Green. We also feel that there is a need for a consistent response when managing student ASB: residents that do report often report back to us that responses can vary wildly.

Importantly, we feel that the taxpayer should not be paying for the solution. Surrey Police have enough to do already with their limited budgets. As a responsible university, I am sure Royal Holloway’s Senior Leadership Team would agree.

But overarching the solution is a deeper problem: one of trust. If Royal Holloway were tasked with managing ASB in the street, could they be trusted to record incidents correctly and respond to incidents in a timely manner? Could they be trusted to manage the problem effectively? I am not sure if they could.

Finally, the vast majority of students are a welcomed addition to our community. Regretfully a small minority, and poor management by Royal Holloway to manage this small minority, has led to the reputation of students as a whole being tarnished. And in my eyes, this is probably Royal Holloway’s Senior Leadership Team’s biggest failing.

Best wishes,

We Need To Talk About Royal Holloway

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