Anti-Social Behaviour Orders

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/asbo.htm: These were introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The police or Local Authority (LA) can apply for an ASBO from a magistrate court when a person (over the age of ten) has been behaving in an anti-social manner, and it is necessary to protect others from further anti-social behaviour by that person. An ASBO remains in force for at least two years and a breach is a criminal offence, which can attract stiff penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment. ASBOs are an important addition to the range of responses available to tackle racist perpetrators. ASBOs can be sought against an individual whose behaviour has caused harassment, alarm or distress to anyone outside their own household. This means that ASBOs can be used against a range of racist perpetrators including youths, older children and adults. The flexibility of the Orders means that restrictions can be tailored to individual cases. For e.g. an ASBO could be used to prevent a youth responsible for racial harassment from entering specific parts of a housing estate. There is no requirement to demonstrate that every other remedy has been exhausted before applying for an ASBO. The key is that an ASBO should be used where it is the most appropriate remedy.

The Home Secretary, the Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP, appointed Lord Warner to head an Action Group, whose members came from a wide range of organisations involved in the ASBO application process. This Group has produced a model protocol which aims to help Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships to adopt clear and effective procedures for dealing with anti-social behaviour in general, and to make the best use of the ASBO in particular. Information & templates on: data protection & information exchange; a step-by-step guide to applying for an ASBO; acceptable behaviour contracts; certificates of consultation; application checklist; & case summary examples are provided. The document is entitled Anti-Social Behaviour Orders: Guidance on Drawing up Local ASBO Protocols, June 2000, Home Office Publication http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs/asbocont.htm

Details of ASBOs granted in cases of racial harassment can be obtained at RaceActionNet http://www.raceactionnet.co.uk

Judgements on Anti-Social Behaviour Orders cases can be obtained from http://www.casetrack.com and http://www.lexis-nexis.co.uk

http://www.westlaw.uk provides information on reported and unreported anti-social behaviour order cases, covering magistrates, criminal and appeal court judgements, law journals, related articles and news.

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