THE number of antisocial behaviour orders handed out soared last year after the Prime Minister urged their use against yobbish behaviour.
A total of 2,555 orders were issued, compared with 1,040 in the previous year.
Greater Manchester had the highest number in England and Wales, followed by London and West Yorkshire, according to Home Office figures published yesterday.
Hazel Blears, the Police Minister, said that antisocial behaviour was a “menace”, but the orders were having an effect. The orders were one way to intervene and make sure that things did not get “completely out of hand”.
She said that the lawless minority had to “get the message very loud and very clear”.
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The figures show that 4,649 orders have been handed out since they were introduced in April 1999. After a slow take-up by police and local councils, the number being issued has risen fast.
In 2003, a total of 1,040 were issued but this rose to 2,555 last year after calls from the Government for councils and police to maker more use of them.
Overall the greatest number of ASBOs has been issued in Greater Manchester, with 710 since 1999. London has had 448, West Yorkshire 361, and the West Midlands 342. Only 18 have been issued in Wiltshire and 16 in Lincolnshire.
The figures did not show how many orders have been breached but statistics published in March showed that the proportion was more than four out of ten.
Breaching an order is a criminal offence and can lead to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to £5,000.
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Measures come into force tomorrow to give greater protection to witnesses in ASBO cases. Witnesses will be allowed to give evidence from behind screens or by video links.
Also from tomorrow, the 62-year-old presumption that bans the identification of juveniles in criminal cases is to end.Children aged 10 to 17 who breach orders will in future be “named and shamed”. Magistrates who refuse to allow identification will be expected to explain their decision in court.
Opposition politicians and probation officers said that the orders were being used inappropriately. Harry Fletcher, assistant general-secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said that the Home Office should review the use of the orders. “There is now overwhelming evidence that ASBOs are being used inappropriately in many parts of the country,” he said. “Some local authorities are using the powers to drive off the streets anybody whose behaviour is eccentric, undesirable or a nuisance.”
Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “Record numbers of ASBOs do not mean that the streets are any safer. Too often an ASBO is a badge of honour, not a real solution to offensive behaviour.”
Liberty, the civil rights group, said: “ASBO mania has been a major priority at the Home Office. We believe it’s now time for a broader debate about whether these orders deal with the underlying causes of crime.”
DEBATE
Are ASBOs the answer to teenage violence?
www.timesonline.co.uk/debate
ABTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR