Camden sets targets for Asbos in housing

The London Borough of Camden is considering extending a programme
of targets for antisocial behaviour orders for its housing
managers.

Last year, the council, which has been the most prolific dispenser
of Asbos in the capital, set quotas of one Asbo or injunction per
year for its 56 estate officers, who manage around 600 properties
each.

And it is considering introducing a similar target regime for
2005-6.

Pressure group Asbo Concern condemned the targets. Campaign
co-ordinator Matt Foot said: “You can’t set targets for Asbos –
it’s the wrong way round.”

He said it reflected Camden’s hardline stance on antisocial
behaviour, adding: “There are more Asbos obtained in Camden than in
the whole of Wales. It’s a very simplistic approach to a complex
problem.”

But he said the “tide was turning” against the excessive use of
Asbos.

A Camden Council spokesperson said that the targets were designed
to remind housing officers of the powers available to them, and
were also applied to preventive measures.

She said: “Our approach is based on need and not number. We would
not hold a housing manager to account for not meeting their
number.”