"It's time to move beyond the ASBO", says Home Secretary as review of powers kicks off

The Home Secretary has launched a wholesale review of anti-social behaviour powers, claiming that “it’s time to move beyond the ASBO”.

Promising a “simple, clear and effective sanctions regime”, Theresa May attacked the Labour government’s record on the issue, arguing that it had created sanctions that were too complex and bureaucratic.

In a speech at the Coin Street Community Centre in London, she said: “Labour introduced a ludicrous list of powers for tackling anti-social behaviour – the ISO, the ASBI, the ASBO and the CRASBO. Crack house closure orders; dog control orders; graffiti removal orders; litter and noise abatement orders; housing injunctions; and parenting orders.”

The Home Secretary said the sanctions were too time consuming and expensive, and criminalised young people unnecessarily, “acting as a conveyor belt to serious crime and prison”.

May pointed to the inconsistent application of the powers across different areas, and said that even professionals did not understand them. “And if the professionals don’t understand them, then how on earth are the perpetrators of anti-social behaviour supposed to understand them? No wonder they don’t act as a serious deterrent.”

“I am determined to give the police and other agencies a toolkit that is appropriate and effective; with tools that are quick, practical and easy to use,” she added.

The Home Secretary vowed to provide simpler sanctions that are easier to obtain and enforce, but which will give police and practitioners “a firm hand” to tackle problem cases.

“Where possible, they [the sanctions] should be rehabilitating and restorative, rather than criminalising and coercive. But where necessary, they should be tough and provide a real deterrent,” May said.

The government’s announcement was accompanied by the release of statistics on ASBOs suggesting that rates of breach had increased – some 40% are breached more than once. The data also suggested that the use of ASBOs had fallen to their lowest level ever.

The Home Secretary emphasised in her speech that tackling anti-social behaviour should not be left to the police, and called for a change of emphasis with communities working alongside them. “Local authority workers; social landlords; health and education professionals; social services – they all need to work together, and to work with the police, to tackle anti-social behaviour in whatever form it takes.”

May insisted the government would not wash its hands of the problem, suggesting it still had an important role to play. She said the coalition would address the root causes of behaviour and incentivise the unemployed.

Other measures will see the licensing system overhauled, teachers “put back in control of the classroom” and greater accountability for the police.