More ASBOs - but only in a few areas
20 Sep 07
Five council areas making most use of antisocial behaviour orders, research reveals
The use of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) in Scotland has doubled in the last three years, but their use is concentrated in a small number of local authority areas.
Research into ASBOs and their impact published today was welcomed by the Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing, who said it would help the government’s review of approaches to tackling antisocial behaviour.
The research, undertaken to carry out the duty in the Antisocial Behaviour Act to report to the parliament within three years of the legislation coming into force, shows that civil ASBOs have been used in a significant number of cases involving alleged criminal offences, many of which were classified as serious. However it did not cover orders made following convictions in the criminal courts.
The findings also revealed:
- a doubling in the number of ASBOs made since 2004, but activity concentrated in a small number of authorities;
- process improvements, helping agencies to address serious antisocial behaviour quickly and efficiently;
- many cases involving 12 to 15-year-olds, which were reviewed under multi-agency arrangements, but only a very small proportion leading to formal "under-16 ASBO" applications;
- breach of the ASBO at around one in three cases, with action taken suggesting that a breach is taken seriously by housing providers, police and the courts;
- a perceived substantial improvement in perpetrator behaviour following the ASBO in one in five cases reviewed, but no perceived improvement in almost one third (31%).
The local authorities making most use of ASBOs were North Lanarkshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife and North Ayrshire. These councils accounted for more than half of all ASBO applications submitted to the courts in Scotland in 2005-06.
Different approaches
Mr Ewing said: "Over the period of the study the number of ASBOs doubled and the researchers identified improvements in the application process, which they said had provided authorities with the means of addressing serious antisocial behaviour quickly and efficiently.
"However, they also found many local authorities adopting different approaches which involved considerably less use of ASBOs.
"While ASBOs can help bring much-needed relief to hard-pressed communities, they are but one 'tool in the box' of enforcement measures. On their own, ASBOs can't solve the deep-seated problems which have fuelled much of the lawlessness in too many of our communities and which the Scottish Government is determined to tackle for the long-term.
"However, they can be useful when used alongside other interventions - such as neighbour mediation services, acceptable behaviour contracts or youth diversion activities - aimed at building safer, stronger communities."
The minister said the government was reviewing the antisocial behaviour strategy and had begun talks with key agencies, such as the police and councils.