If, like me, you’ve had the misfortune of having to put up with anti-social behaviour, you’ll appreciate this expose of what goes on behind the scenes. Anti-Social by Nick Pettigrew joins ranks with the plethora of occupation-related memoirs that have been dominating the bestsellers list for the last few years. Those of you who enjoyed This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay will enjoy Pettigrew’s irreverent, ironic humour. The similarities end there though. Pettigrew’s book is different. Not only is it a look into the glamorous career of a local authority officer, it’s also a scathing critique of the last decade of austerity.
Pettigrew’s book is darkly funny. It’s probably why he packed in his extremely lucrative career as an anti-social behaviour officer to become a stand up comedian. It’s clear early on in the book, from his descriptions of his own mental health issues, he’s been wasted on a career in public service, with his line “Maybe he’s born with it. Maybe he’s sertraline.” Another highlight in the book is Pettigrew’s humorous job description, where he outlines what it takes to become a drug dealer.
But the book also goes to some dark places. It describes the desperate situation that many people find themselves in and how reports of anti-social behaviour from fed up neighbours can uncover much larger crimes. His diary starts with the story of Carla, who has an inoperable tumour pressing against the part of her brain that deals with emotions and language. As a result, she makes her neighbours’ lives a misery by chapping their doors, staring through their windows and shouting at their children in the street. She can’t help these things due to where her tumour is located. Pettigrew has to make some difficult decisions about Carla, who ultimately becomes the catalyst that leads to him handing in his notice.
Another common problem that he faces is the exploitation of vulnerable people. In one case, a young woman with learning disabilities, who is supported by the local authority to live independently, invites a drug addict into her home. The partner soon follows and shortly afterwards, both financially abuse the young woman and steal money from her, clearly taking advantage of her good nature.
As all good books should be, it’s both an uplifting and frustrating read. When things go right for the council workers and residents alike, you feel the same relief that they do. When things don’t go so well, you’re left demanding a revolution. As a result of cuts to front line services such as health, police, social work and education, people like Pettigrew and the team he works in are left to pick up the pieces. Consequently, the workload keeps rising: “It’s like a slowly inflating balloon: the workload keeps expanding and the balloon stretches to accommodate it; you see it expand past the point it’s meant to go; but it somehow still manages to keep together and keep expanding.” Pettigrew blames this for his own deteriorating mental health – describing the all too common feeling that many of us have in a job where there aren’t enough hours in the day. He writes that he is left “sitting silently screaming at my desk”, unable to admit to feeling like he’s “drowning”.
Public sector workers across the country are “drowning” as more demands are placed on their services in a post-pandemic world. For anyone looking for an honest account of what it’s like to be a public servant in austerity Britain, Anti -Social is a brilliantly funny and brutally scathing example.
Words by Lauren Gilmour
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