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Discuss the Strengths & Weaknesses of Anti – Social Behaviour Orders

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For the 10 years that the Labour government has been in power, it has strived to reduce crime all over the UK. One of the main targets of the Labour Party was the rising number of Anti -Social incidents reported to the police every day. In order to combat this growing phenomenon that is today's 'Youth Culture', the ASBO was created. The ASBO - or Anti Social Behaviour Order, to quote its official name - is a civil order made against a person who has been shown to have participated or initiated in anti social behaviour. This is defined as "conduct which caused or was likely to cause alarm, harassment, or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as him or herself and where an ASBO is seen as necessary to protect relevant …show more content…

Many people feel the ASBO is an unnecessary form of harassment and they are not researched properly before being issued. A prime example of this is the case of Mrs X who was served an ASBO purely on false allegations. She wasn't made aware of the ASBO allegations until the papers were served to her for a hearing in December 2004. Thankfully, the ASBO was overturned by the court and Mrs X was compensated but the council was criticised by the Local Government Ombudsman for "abuse of power of nightmarish proportions" (BBC News - 05/07/2007). This report does little to alleviate the public's worries with regards to the ASBO - especially when the uses for ASBOs are now getting more and more obscure - with more and more government funding spent:•Running a business from home•Parking Illegally & abandoned vehicles•Overgrown, unkempt gardens•Nuisance AnimalsAnd then when you look at the more serious issues an ASBO can be issued for, then people can be forgiven for wondering what police work actually carries an official custodial sentence?•Kerb crawling and prostitution•Arson•Assault•Criminal Behaviour•Criminal Damage•Handling stolen property•Stalking•Racist Behaviour / Racial Harassment•Domestic Violence•Joy riders(Anti Social Behaviour Directory - © Copyright 2005 - 2007)When we look at the above named issues, it is fair to say they are normally custodial sentence offenses - usually with a sentence above 5 years. So,

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