What is an ASBO?
Anti-Social Behaviour Orders
were a key part of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and came into
force on 1 April 1999. Since modified, by the Police Reform Act
2002 and the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, orders ban individuals
from entering certain areas or carrying out specific acts for
a minimum period of two years (see Home Office website).
An application for an ASBO can
be made to a magistrate by police forces (including the British
transport police), local authorities, housing action trusts and
registered social landlords and imposed on the individual deemed
guilty of "anti-social behaviour". This is defined,
by a Government guide to ASBOs on their crime reduction
website, as
"behaviour which causes
or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or
more people who are not in the same household as the perpetrator"
ASBOs also take the form of interim
orders (made by the magistrates' court or the county court ahead
of a full hearing), county court orders (obtained when other
proceedings against an individual are underway such as possession
of tenancy) and "orders made on conviction in criminal proceedings"
(where the criminal courts can serve an order on an individual
convicted of a criminal offence). The latter has become known
as a "CRASBO", but this is a somewhat erroneous term
because the key point remains that, as in all cases, they are
civil orders.
This means that in the application
process, for an ASBO, there is no jury and hearsay evidence is
admissible. If breached, the individual has committed a criminal
offence which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Enforcing the orders has often
proven difficult, so to encourage the public to take an active
role recipients are frequently "named and shamed".
Update: Between April 1999 and December 2004,
4,649 ASBOs were issued in England and Wales and that number
rose by over 100% by the end of 2005 to 9,853. An area-by-area
breakdown is available here. In February 2007, the government,
in response to a freedom of information request, revealed that
47% of these orders have
been breached.
For enquiries or contributions
to this site, e-mail asbowatch(at)statewatch.pipal.net
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