Expert Guides

Antisocial behaviour

Posted: 24 April 2008 | Subscribe Online

This article contains articles about the government’s aims to combat antisocial communities and the reaction from lobby groups who feel young people have been targeted by the legislation. It also contains relevant articles about antisocial behaviour and jobs.

What is antisocial behaviour?

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) includes a variety of behaviour that can blight the quality of community life.

Examples include:

nuisance neighbours
rowdy behaviour
intimidating groups taking over public spaces
vandalism and graffiti
people dumping rubbish
begging and anti-social drinking

The Home Office has identified four factors that do not cause antisocial behaviour but can increase the risk of it happening.

Latest antisocial behaviour jobs

Family environment

Risk factors include:

poor parental discipline and supervision
family conflict (between parents or between parents and children)
family history of problem behaviour
parental involvement/attitudes condoning problem behaviour

Schooling & educational attainment

Risk factors include:

aggressive behaviour (e.g. bullying)
lack of commitment to school
school disorganisation
school exclusion and truancy patterns
low achievement at school

Community life / accommodation / employment

Risk factors include:

community disorganisation and neglect
the availability of drugs and alcohol
lack of neighbourhood attachment
growing up in a deprived area within low income families, high rates of unemployment and a high turnover of population
areas where there are high levels of vandalism

Personal and individual factors

Risk factors include:

alienation and lack of social commitment
early involvement in problem behaviour
attitudes that condone problem behaviour
for young people, a high proportion of unsupervised time spent with peers and friends or peers involved in problem behaviour
mental illness
early involvement in the use of illegal drugs and crime

Legislation

The government’s tough stance against antisocial behaviour emerged in March 2003 when the Home Office published a white paper Respect and Responsibility.

The then home secretary David Blunkett published the paper which included a number of measures designed to tackle antisocial behaviour including:-

Parenting orders for parents of children acting antisocially
Fixed penalty notices for noisy neighbours
Intensive fostering for children from dysfunctional families
Parenting contracts for parents of truanting children
Antisocial tenants losing the right-to-buy
Beggars to face a community penalty after three convictions

The white paper paved the way for the Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003.

The Act included measures to extend fixed penalty notices fining scheme to 16 and 17 year olds and to allow police to disperse groups of children. People found guilty of antisocial behaviour could also have their tenancies demoted.

Related articles

Parents to be punished for anti-social children

Blunkett's plans leave social workers in quandary over 'enforcement' role

Interventions

Police and other agencies can issue the following interventions:

warning letters and interviews, contracts and agreements
fixed penalty notices and penalty notices for disorder
parenting orders, Individual Support orders, Noise Abatement Notices, Injunctions, dispersal powers and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders
‘crack house’ closure orders
possession proceedings against a tenant