Police deny losing faith in Asbo orders
May 10 2008 by Paul James, The Journal
POLICE chiefs in the region have denied going soft on Asbos after new figures revealed the number issued has more than halved in some areas.
The Home Office has reported a sharp fall in the number of Anti-social Behaviour Orders being doled out to persistent offenders in the North East.
Northumbria has seen the most dramatic decline, with 181 Asbos issued in 2005, dropping to just 70 in 2006, the latest figures available.
In Cumbria the numbers fell from 49 to 31, and in Durham from 27 to 26.
The only exception is Cleveland, where 80 Asbos were handed out in 2006 compared with 60 the previous year.
However, the force denies it has given up on the civil measure, which was introduced in 1998 to curb anti-social behaviour in communities, giving offenders the opportunity to mend their ways so they might be swayed from embarking on criminal careers.
Northumbria deputy chief constable David Warcup said: “The fact that there have been fewer issued in the last 12 months is not a reflection of Northumbria Police’s view of their value, or a reflection of our determination to tackle anti-social behaviour.
“Asbos are one of a number of tools we use to tackle the problem. We have listened to the public, who have told us that the problems caused by anti-social behaviour are a real concern. We have reduced disorder by just under 11% during the last 12 months and are determined to continue to tackle the issue. We have made it a priority for the forthcoming year.”
One of these “tools” is the Acceptable Behaviour Agreement (ABA), the numbers of which have gone up in the region from 250 in 2003/4 to 1,550 in 2006/7.
These alternative measures were last year hailed by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg as the answer to the growing problem of antisocial behaviour.
But the effectiveness of these orders has also been questioned with the new figures showing that, on average, each Asbo was breached more than three times.
Shadow home secretary David Davis said ABAs were no different from their predecessor. He said: “The real reason the Government seem to be giving up on Asbos is because of their appalling breach rate.
“Their answer is to replace them with Acceptable Behaviour Agreements, but National Audit Office figures show these are also breached by almost two-thirds of under-18-year-olds. The Government is repeating the same failed strategy under a new name.”
