Home Office minister Hazel Blears announced new measures to tackle antisocial behaviour today as government figures showed that almost half of young people who breach asbos end up in custody.

The Home Office figures show that 4649 Asbos were issued in England and Wales from April 1999 to December 2004. 

The numbers more than doubled over the past year, with 2643 issued in 2004 compared to 1040 in 2003.

By the end of 2003, 46 per cent of juveniles with Asbos were jailed for breaching the orders, the figures show.

The Home Office said that the majority of those who received custody for breaching Asbos were persistent offenders who were also being dealt with for other offences.

The figures show that 30 of a total of 179 juveniles went into custody for breaching Asbos without any other offence at the end of 2003.

Only seven individual support orders, which help address the causes of antisocial behaviour, and 18 parenting orders were issued alongside Asbo applications since they were introduced in spring last year.

However, the government announced an extra £500,000 funding for ISOs for young people between the ages of 10 and 17 years.

Unveiling new antisocial behaviour measures today, Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said: “The statistics published today show that local authorities are responding enthusiastically to the powers available to them.”

The Home Office also announced today that they would lift of automatic reporting restrictions to allow the local media to give details of those who breach their Asbos.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also announced that it intends to consult on enabling local authorities to contract powers to seek Asbos to bodies carrying responsibility for housing management on their behalf.