The Bigger Picture on Antisocial Behaviour
By Lindsay Clarke
Antisocial behaviour
Combating anti-social behaviour is a long-standing New Labour
commitment. Prior to the party’s landslide victory in the 1997
general election, its manifesto pledged to create “community safety
orders will deal with threatening and disruptive criminal
neighbours."
Asbos
The Labour government went on to fulfil this pledge with the
creation of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos), introduced by the
Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
Around 2,600 Asbos have been issued since their introduction in
1999. Councils and the police can apply to a magistrates' court for
an order to prohibit an individual from causing harassment, alarm
or distress in a particular area. There is no maximum time limit
for an Asbo, although the minimum is two years. The most
controversial element of the orders is that they can be awarded to
children as young as 10.
Although an Asbo is a civil order, breaching one is a criminal
offence and, if convicted, the individual can face up to five
years' jail. They can be applied for by local authorities, police
forces (including the British Transport Police) and by registered
social landlords, but not by members of the public.
An order contains conditions prohibiting the offender from
specific anti-social acts or entering defined areas. For example,
an ASBO may prohibit an offender from associating with other named
people or from going near a house where they have caused
problems.
They are community-based orders that involve local people in the
collection of evidence and in helping to monitor breaches. The
civil status of Asbos means hearsay and professional witness
evidence can be heard in Asbo applications. This is an extremely
important feature of Asbos because those subjected to the
anti-social behaviour or those reporting the behaviour can be
protected.
Despite fears from children’s charities and lobby groups that
Asbos tend to criminalise children too early in their lives and
could lead an increase in custodial sentences for teenagers, the
government has continued its drive towards greater powers against
what the tabloids term “louts and yobs” with the introduction of
the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003.
Legislation
With this legislation, anti-social behaviour has become a term
capturing all sorts of activities disrupting communities. The bill
addresses topics including fly-posting, air weapons, closure of
premises used for drugs, and allowing Community Support Officers to
stop cyclists. The act also creates parenting orders that can be
linked to Asbos or used to stop children truanting from school.
The government aims to toughen up previous anti-social behaviour
legislation by removing the requirement to consult before using
curfew powers. Under the plans, police officers will be able to
break up or move on two or more people even if they are not
suspected of having broken the law.
Officers will also have the power to impose curfews on under-16s
by taking them home if they are found outside without an adult
after 9pm.
TOGETHER campaign
In 2003, the government also launched a campaign to encourage
communities to take action on anti-social behaviour and help them
make use of the new legislation. Dubbed TOGETHER, its strands a
range of initiatives, from funding for every area of England and
Wales, to a new TOGETHER ActionLine, to TOGETHER training
programmes for police, housing officers, wardens, court staff,
environmental health officers, and other practitioners. TOGETHER
action areas were launched as initiatives to tackle nuisance
neighbours, begging, and environmental crime in 10 trailblazer
areas. Meanwhile, research and funding would identify the best ways
to support those affected by anti-social behaviour. Also, action
across government departments that would help tackle anti-social
behaviour, the Home Office said.
The Home Office has also launched academy action days as part of
its Together campaign to combat antisocial behaviour. Practitioners
will visit local agencies and teach them how to use the Antisocial
Behaviour Act, obtain Asbos and share information.
Acceptable Behaviour Contracts
The Housing Association has been another body used by the Home
Office to tackle anti social behaviour. Housing associations will
be encouraged to use Acceptable Behaviour Contracts when dealing
with antisocial young people.
An acceptable behaviour contract (ABC) is a voluntary written
agreement between a person who has been involved in anti-social
behaviour and one or more local agencies whose role it is to
prevent such behaviour (e.g. police and housing).
ABCs are most commonly used for young people but may also be used
for adults. The contract specifies a list of anti-social acts in
which the person has been involved and which they agree not to
continue. In April 2002, there were over 170 ABC schemes across the
country and over 1,800 ABCs in place.
A Housing Corporation spokesperson described the contracts as more
inclusive and consultative than the harsher antisocial behaviour
orders, as well as potentially more effective.
Legal action in the form of an Asbo or possession order (if the
young person is in social housing) should be stated on the contract
where this is the potential consequence of breach.
Antisocial behaviour policies
In a circular issued to housing associations about how they
should prepare their antisocial behaviour policies, required under
the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003, the corporation suggests that
prevention should be an essential part of housing associations’
approach to antisocial behaviour.
The document stresses that young perpetrators of antisocial
behaviour often have problems with their family and school due to
their behaviour. It claims the causes of the young person’s
behaviour should be ascertained and there may be a need to involve
parents and guardians, and possible access information from schools
and social services.
Although the bodies representing civil liberties and children’s
rights have fought hard against what they see as draconian Asbos
and curfews, the government is likely to press on with its anti
social behaviour programme because Labour thinks it is a vote
winner. In this regard, the perception of anti social behaviour
may be as important as the problem itself. The Home Office website
says anti-social behaviour includes a range of problems – noisy
neighbours, abandoned cars, vandalism, graffiti, litter and youth
nuisance.
It claims anti-social behaviour holds back the regeneration of our
most disadvantaged areas, creating the environment in which crime
can take hold. But support for this position comes from the latest
BCS data showing that the proportion of people who perceived a high
level of anti-social behaviour had fallen from 21% in interviews in
2002 to 18% in 2003. And one in three people (33%) cited teenagers
“hanging around” on the streets as a big problem.
The challenge facing those campaigning for children’s rights is
to convince the government that teenagers hanging round the streets
is not a big enough problem to justify measures that can lead to a
custodial sentence ever committing a criminal offence.
Campaign groups are increasingly doing this and Rod Morgan,
chair of the government’s Youth Justice Board warned in May 2004
that there had been a rise in the number of children going to
prison as a result of breaches of asbos.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime/antisocialbehaviour/actionplan/index.html