The slow death of the ASBO?

ASBO or the Anti Social Behaviour Order has been with us for 11 years. First launched in 2000 as a major tool to tackle the anti social element of the youth culture the government is now considering doing away with the controversial tool in place of more localised controls by communities and local government. The approach has been outlined by the home secretary Teresa May MP who has outlined her plans which has been heralded as the most significant reforms of policing in the country for 50 years. The home secretary wishes to replace the bureaucratic accountability that has meant police forces looking to Whitehall, and targets and bureaucracy. With democratic accountability: the election of a police and crime commissioner for each police force to represent peoples needs locally, the home secretary has stated these reforms will make policing more accountable. She also announced the strengthening of the way we deal with serious organised crime by creating a FBI type organisation: The National Crime Agency.
Since the launch of ASBOs in 2000 there has been more than 17,000 ASBOs issued in England and Wales. With the oldest being 88 years and the youngest just 8 years. The controversial approach supported by parents and communities alike at the time was claimed to put a halt to offending behaviour. However, it has had mixed reviews over the past decade. While the ASBO itself firmly said to offenders the next step is jail, only 5,000 offenders actually went to jail despite more than 55% of ASBOS being breached. Supporters of the approach say that the ASBO was never meant to be a solution to a problem but one tool in the armoury of the police, judiciary and agencies that wanted to work with offenders.
For many in social rented housing it was a knee jerk and populist approach to dealing with crime and nuisance on housing estates popularised by the media. It did however send a clear message to wanna-be-gangsters who sought to cause nuisance in the community the threat of having an ASBO early in your life could wreck your chances of employment and opportunity for years. In a recent Welsh Tenants Seminar held in Swansea and Rhondda there were clear support for the use of these measures, however with varying degrees of success, while the cost of issuing and monitoring ASBO also came under criticism. In Swansea it was reported that ASBOs were a useful deterrent that enabled crime enforcement and educationalists to work proactively with youngsters on offending, while in the Rhondda the tool was also extensively used to target hot spots of nuisance. Whatever the verdict the intention of the government’s revised approach is to do away with them.

If you want to comment on the proposals the full reforms are outlined in the paper Policing in the 21st century: Reconnecting police and the People. If you want a copy of the report can be obtained by emailing Nigel.Lawrebnce@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk or by visiting the home office web site.