Anti-Social Behaviour Order

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In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland[1] an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (acronym ASBO, pronounced az-bo) is a civil order made against a person who has been shown to have engaged in anti-social behaviour. In the United Kingdom, this is defined as "conduct which caused or was likely to cause alarm, harassment, or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as him or herself and where an ASBO is seen as necessary to protect relevant persons from further anti-social acts by the Defendant".[2] In England and Wales they are issued by Magistrates' Courts, and in Scotland by the Sheriff Courts. The UK government introduced ASBOs by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. In the UK, a CRASBO is a "Criminally Related" ASBO. One local authority in the UK has published photos of those given ASBOs on an Internet site.[3]

[edit] History

ASBOs were first introduced in England and Wales by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. However, subsequent legislation has been used to strengthen its application: in England and Wales this has largely been via the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, in Northern Ireland through an order in council. In Scotland, which has a separate criminal justice system, ASBOs were introduced for the first time in October 2004 by the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004.[4] Scotland, however, has an existing tribunal charged with dealing with children and young persons who offend, the Children's Hearings System

In a press release of 28 October 2004, Tony Blair and David Blunkett announced further measures to extend the use and definition of ASBOs.[5] The remit would include:-

The press release concluded by remarking:

"In the past year around 100,000 cases of anti social behaviour have been dealt with. 2,633 ASBOs and 418 dispersal orders have been issued in the same period."

On 25 October 2005, Transport for London announced its intent to apply for a new law giving them the authority to issue orders against repeat fare dodgers, and increased fines.[6]

As of 31 March 2004, 2455 ASBOs had been issued in England and Wales. On 30 March 2006, the Home Office announced that 7,356 anti-social behaviour orders had been given out since 1999 in England and Wales.[7]

[edit] What Warrants an ASBO

[edit] Typical ASBOs

The level of evidence required to obtain is much lower than that of the standard of proof for criminal cases. Both hearsay evidence and anonymous testimony are admissible as evidence. This means an asbo is one of the only cases heard under civil law which can result in a criminal penalty - hearsay evidence and anonymous evidence can result in a custodial sentence.

The order may prohibit any behaviour. Breach of an ASBO can result in criminal penalties of up to five years in prison. Cases of orders have included:

[edit] Less common ASBOs

Less conventional uses of ASBOs include:-

  • Recently, a woman given an ASBO preventing her from jumping into rivers, canals or railways.[10] This is because the rescue services were placed at risk when rescuing her from these places whilst she was attempting suicide. Magistrates made her subject to an ASBO, which means that if she attempts suicide again she could be sent to prison.
  • An ASBO granted to a whole area, to part of Skegness[11] allowing the police to arrest anyone who caused trouble in the area.
  • Two teenage boys from east Manchester forbidden to wear one golf glove.[12]
  • A 13-year-old forbidden to use the word "grass".[12]
  • A 17-year-old forbidden to use his front door.[13]
  • An 87-year-old man ordered not to shout, swear or make "sarcastic remarks to neighbours or their visitors".[14]
  • In the centre of Manchester, a group of residents were calling for an ASBO against noisy builders on big construction sites.[15]

[edit] Reception of ASBOs

A MORI opinion poll published on 9 June 2005 found that 82% of the British public were in favour of ASBOs, however only 39% believed they were effective in their current form.[16]

Some critics of the ASBO system argue that it criminalises behaviour that is otherwise lawful. Other parties have voiced concerns about the open-ended nature of ASBO penalties - that is, there is little restriction on what a court may impose as the terms of the ASBO, and little restriction on what can be designated as antisocial behaviour. Critics have reported that only around 3% of ASBO applications have been turned down.[17]

NACRO has published two reports, the first claiming that ASBOs were a failure due to being costly and slow to obtain,[18] and the second criticising their use by the courts, saying that they are being used too hastily, before alternative remedies have been tried.[19]

ASBO Concern highlights the following issues:

1. Asbos can be used to criminalise behaviour that would otherwise not be illegal. Under asbo law, people have been banned from playing football, feeding pigeons, swearing, being sarcastic and riding a bicycle. Asbo laws have also been used to curb people's rights to free speech and association. It is not uncommon for someone to be banned from being with more than one other person in a public place.

2. If you breach your asbo you can be sent to jail for 5 years, with children aged under 17 years facing a 2 year Detention and Training Order. Overall, one in four of those who have been given an asbo have ended up in prison.

3. The Government said that asbos would only be imposed on children "in exceptional circumstances" but this promise has proved to be worthless. In reality, more than four in ten asbos have been imposed on young people aged less than 17 years old.

4. Many of these asbos have been imposed on children with special needs. A study by the British institute for Brain Injured Children (BIBIC) found that up to 35 percent of young people with asbos had a diagnosed mental disorder or accepted learning difficulty.

5. Asbos have also been imposed on vulnerable adults including people with mental health problems and homeless beggars: - One homeless man was given an asbo banning him from begging in an 'earnest and humble manner'. He carried on begging, was jailed and died in prison. - In another shocking case, a suicidal woman was banned from going near the railways, multistorey car parks, rivers or bridges. Instead of offering support to deal with her depression, the judge threatened her with imprisonment for being a nuisance!

6. Anyone who gets and asbo can be publicly 'named and shamed' - this means that your photo and personal details are posted on the internet, through door to door leaflet drops and poster campaigns. Children as young as 10 have been named and shamed in this way, with some facing threats of violence from vigilantes as a result. Other children regard naming and shaming as a perverse "badge of honour", making it very unlikely to change their behaviour for the better.

7. Asbos are being misused because they are so easy to impose. Less than one in a hundred of the applications made so far have been refused This is because local council officials or the police merely have to persuade a judge that your behaviour "may cause harassment or alarm or distress" to someone else to get one imposed. They are also allowed to use second or third hand hearsay as evidence in court, so it is very hard to defend yourself against vindictive or mistaken allegations.

8. There is no evidence that asbos stop people from behaving antisocially. More than four in ten are breached and frequently those that are not merely move the problem on to another area. This is because at best they are a quick fix which fails to address the root cause of problem behavour.

9. There is strong public support more positive methods of tackling antisocial behaviour. Research by the Joseph Rowntree Trust found that two thirds of those surveyed preferred preventative approaches to punitive approaches such as asbos.

10. Asboconcern has presented the government with a dossier of evidence of the widespread misuse of asbos. But Ministers have so far refused to accept our call for full independent review of their use. We believe that the public has the right to know why so many asbos are being imposed, how many asbo recipients have disabilities or medical conditions, what people are being banned from doing and why so many asbos fail to work.Small Text

[edit] TV & Media

Nine teenage girls from Manchester, many of whom have criminal convictions (including one with an ASBO) are the subject of the TV series ASBO Teen to Beauty Queen for Channel Five.

Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson refers to the Ford Focus ST as the Ford ASBO.

The Streets refers to ASBO in the song "Memento Mori" from their 2006 album The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living.

The Hadouken remix of The Prayer by Bloc Party has the line "Earn yourself your first ASBO".

The Holloways refer to Britain's youth as the 'asbo generation' in their song 'Nothing For the Kids' off their debut album 'So This Is Great Britain'.

[edit] Republic of Ireland

ASBOs were introduced by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell on 1 January 2007.[1]

The Holloways refer to the Britain's youth as the 'asbo generation' in their song 'Nothing For The Kids' taken from their recent album 'So This Is Great Britain'.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Asbos come into force on Monday — The Irish Times news report, 29 December 2006.
  2. ^ "s1(1) Crime and Disorder Act 1998", Office of Public Sector Information. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  3. ^ Warwickshire Police Media Portal - Images of ASBO and CRASBO Offenders Published On Warwickshire Police Website
  4. ^ "Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004: Guidance on Antisocial Behaviour Orders", Scottish Executive. "Guidance on Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004PDF (333 KiB)" URLs accessed on 18 June 2006.
  5. ^ "Press Briefing: 3.45pm Thursday 28 October 2004", 10 Downing Street. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  6. ^ "Plans for £50 fare-dodger fines, BBC News, 25 October 2005. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  7. ^ "Asbo total hits 7,356", The Register, 30 March 2006. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  8. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3805171.stm
  9. ^ "Man banned from organising raves" BBC News, 14 June 2006
  10. ^ "Suicide woman banned from rivers", BBC News, 25 February 2005. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  11. ^ "Skegness is given an ASBO", Skegness Today, 26 July 2006. URL accessed on 2 August 2006.
  12. ^ a b Home Affairs - Written Evidence: 19. Memorandum submitted by Napo, House of Commons, 22 March 2005. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  13. ^ "Yob banned from his own front door", icWales. URL accessed on 02 September 2006.
  14. ^ "Anti-social OAP faces jail", BBC News, 22 July 2003. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  15. ^ Metro News page 1, 27 October 2006 Asbo plea for noisy builders
  16. ^ "Public Concern About ASB And Support For ASBOs", MORI, 10 June 2005. URL accessed on 18 June 2006.
  17. ^ "A triumph of hearsay and hysteria" The Guardian, 5 April, 2005
  18. ^ Failure of policy in tackling anti-social behaviour. Nacro (2002-11-12). Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
  19. ^ ASBOs oversold as the answer to antisocial behaviour. Nacro (2006-12-07). Retrieved on 2007-01-03.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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