Barnardo's expresses concern over use of direction power to tackle ASB

May 9, 2011

Children could be returned to unsafe homes or pushed into potentially harmful situations if the police use the government’s proposed “direction power” without considering the risks, charity Barnardo’s has warned.

The power is contained in the Home Office’s More Effective Responses To Anti-Social Behaviour consultation, which ends on 17 May.

Under the proposals, a constable or police community support officer would be able to require a person aged 10 or over to leave a specific area, and not return for 48 hours.

The tests for the issuing officer would be:

That the individual has committed crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour or is likely to cause or contribute to the occurrence or continuance of crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour in that area
That giving the direction was necessary to remove or reduce the likelihood of that individual committing crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour in that area.

The direction power could also include optional secondary requirements, such as requiring the individual to surrender items, such as alcoholic drinks, contributing to their anti-social behaviour.

Barnardo’s pointed out that many children involved in anti-social behaviour were from highly disadvantaged backgrounds characterised by abuse, bereavement, educational difficulties or residence in high crime neighbourhoods.

The charity is also calling for the courts to be required to ask for information about the home lives of children who are being sanctioned for anti-social behaviour “to ascertain the likelihood of a young person being supported to change their ways”.

Barnardo’s chief executive, Anne Marie Carrie, said: “If police send children back to abusive or unsafe households or move them on without consideration for the reasons behind their anti-social behaviour they could be placed in greater danger."

She added: “If the Government really wants ‘effective responses’ to anti-social behaviour by children then it needs to know why the problems are happening in the first place. We need to treat the causes of crime, rather than put sticking plasters on the symptoms.”

Carrie called for much better communication between the police and and welfare services to ensure children are not being put at risk and to avoid perpetuating the cycle of offending.

"That is not to say that young people shouldn’t face the consequences of their actions, but if we want to protect children we should be able to map welfare needs in communities, not just crime, while preventing offences rather than just reacting to them,” she said.

Barnardo’s claimed that such welfare mapping could act as a 'community trigger' for wider needs, such as: