Tackling antisocial behaviour is more than issuing asbos

Tackling antisocial behaviour is not just about issuing antisocial behaviour orders, Scottish justice minister Cathy Jamieson warned this week.

Jamieson said that many commentators felt that tackling antisocial behaviour was just about issuing more and more Asbos, but that getting to the underlying causes involved much more.

A report published a year after the introduction of new laws designed to tackle antisocial behaviour north of the border found that during the year there had been:-

• Investment in programmes designed to divert young people away from trouble.

• More than 1,500 on the spot fines to curb unacceptable behaviour.

• The creation of local hotlines to speed up the reporting of antisocial behaviour

• Action to tackle graffiti, boy racers and noisy neighbours

“The concentration on Asbos has often masked the success of those other measures,” said Jamieson.

“And tackling ASB is not simply about making full use of the powers in the Act. It’s about offering alternatives and positive life choices to all our people, particularly our young people,” she concluded.

The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 received Royal Assent in