Labour launches bid to save the ASBO
The Labour Party has claimed government plans to scrap anti-social behaviour orders would ‘leave communities helpless and vulnerable’.
In an attempt to force the government to keep the orders, shadow home secretary Alan Johnson yesterday said the ASBO has been a ‘success’ since in was launched in 1999.
Last month, home secretary Theresa May said: ‘It’s time to move beyond the ASBO.’ She suggested the controversial orders could be scrapped as part of a reform of the approach to tackling problem behaviour.
Mr Johnson said: ‘Everyone remembers that under the last Tory government crime rocketed and anti-social behaviour was classed as low-level nuisance and not taken seriously.
‘This time around, Tory home secretary Theresa May is wrongly claiming that ASBOs don’t work.
‘The problem is not the powers available but her government’s lack of commitment to tackling crime and disorder in our communities.
‘What is needed is greater concerted action to ensure that the police and local authorities in every location tackle the problems of anti-social behaviour as effectively as the best.’
Ms May outlined plans to give communities the power to bring about change themselves, and greater flexibility for police and councils to decide how best to tackle anti-social behaviour.
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Readers' comments (3)
Sidney Webb | 25/08/2010 9:55 am
The Dodo was not intelligent, even for a bird. It could not fly. It tasted really good. It is extinct.
The ASBO was not a clever idea. It did not work. It left all with a sour taste in their mouths, especially those in Social Housing who had to foot the bill. It needs to be extinct, and if the dinasaurs supporting it are not careful they risk the same outcome.
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Harry Lime | 25/08/2010 10:03 am
The problem with the ASBO is that in many respects they are similar to eviction orders, they are not something any body should necessarily aspire to have, it's a sign that all other interventions have failed.
More LA's should be saying we've ONLY issued 10 ASBO's because here's the evidence of how all our lower level interventions have worked. Also people's perceptions of ASB are often very different to the reality. My elderly mother is convinced ASB is a major issue in her area, and Haloween/Bonfire night aside, I don't think she's ever really experienced any.
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Anonymous | 25/08/2010 10:26 am
Deadbeat NuLab, still bidding to play the law and order card. Another fine mess.
The caravan has moved on. Asbos were a publicity gimmic formulated by a politician blinded by cheap thrills. Blunkett's tart saw the light almost the day after. So has the public.
Real savings are to be had in housing departments by closing down the asbo industry wallahs and merging their activities into a 10 minute think a week for the average housing officer.
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