ANTON PATTON ON THE ABOLITION OF ASBOS

It has emerged in the press this week that ministers plan to abolish Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, more commonly known as ASBOs.

 

It has emerged in the press this week that ministers plan to abolish Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, more commonly known as ASBOs.

 

ASBOs

ASBOs were first introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and thousands of orders have been imposed in England, Scotland and Wales.

Now the government has announced plans to scrap them and six related orders, replacing them with CBOs (Criminal Behaviour Orders) and CPIs (Crime Prevention Injuctions).

 

New Proposals

Outlined under the new proposals:

• Asbos and six related orders relating to the behaviour of people, such as Drink Banning Orders, will be replaced in England and Wales by two orders: the Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) and a Crime Prevention Injunction (CPI)
• The CBO will be available to be used against people convicted of crime
• The CPI is a civil order and similar to the existing ASBOs – but ministers say it will be available at an earlier stage of bad behaviour and be easier and faster to use
• CBO and CPI have a lower standard of proof and could be put in place in days or even hours, the government says Ten current laws relating to protection of places will be reduced to three types of Community Protection Orders
• Police powers to allow them to force people to move on are to be consolidated into a single power under which the police will not need to designate a dispersal zone in advance and can order people to leave an area for up to 48 hours
• People who fail to comply with the order face a £2,500 fine or three months imprisonment

 

It remains to be seen as to when or even if the new proposals will actually amount to anything.