pmt
28-07-10, 08:22 PM
in sweeping changes, says Theresa May
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/836408-asbos-may-be-axed-in-sweeping-changes
Anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) may be axed as the Government signalled its intention to turn the system for dealing with yobbish behaviour on its head.
(1) (http://www.metro.co.uk/news/836408-asbos-may-be-axed-in-sweeping-changes#comments)Related Tags:London (http://www.metro.co.uk/explore/locations/cities/london)behaviour (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=behaviour)police (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=police)community (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=community)power (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=power)
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2010/07/28/article-1280330226470-0A98FF52000005DC-152725_223x335.jpg Home Secretary Theresa May made a key speech on anti-social behaviour
Home Secretary Theresa May today said: "It is time for us to stop tolerating anti-social behaviour."
Strong community action must be used instead to bring back a sense of personal and social responsibility and to make anti-social behaviour "unusual, abnormal and something to stand up to", she said.
"We must turn the system on its head," Mrs May said. "There is no magic Whitehall lever we can pull simply to stop anti-social behaviour. No magic button to press or tap to turn to stop the flow of misery.
"The solution to your community's problems will not come from officials sitting in the Home Office working on the latest national action plan.
"We will put power into the hands of our citizens and we will put our trust into the professionals."
Speaking at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Southwark, London, Mrs May said one person in every seven believes their local area suffers from high levels of anti-social behaviour, leading to millions of tarnished lives and costing billions of pounds a year to tackle.
"We need to make anti-social behaviour what it once was - unusual, abnormal and something to stand up to - instead of what it has become: frequent, normal and tolerated," she said.
Government proposals include a sweeping crackdown on binge drinking, reforming the licensing laws and a bid to make police a more responsive and accountable part of local communities.
Mrs May said she wants officers to be able to use their "common sense" to deal with anti-social behaviour, with punishments being "rehabilitative and restorative" rather than "criminalising".
She added that while police are often the first port of call for victims, "they have not always taken anti-social behaviour seriously enough".
"It's time to move beyond the Asbo," she said. "We need a complete change in emphasis, with communities working with the police and other agencies to stop bad behaviour escalating that far."
Communities need to be given the power to bring about their own change, and police and councils need the right tools to get their jobs done, she said.
Plans include incentives for unemployed people to make work pay, regaining discipline in schools by putting teachers back in control of their classrooms and encouraging young people to take responsibility through National Citizen Service.
Solutions to stop anti-social behaviour also need to come from communities themselves, Mrs May said.
"We will back those who step in when it is right to do so and we will support people so that they are willing and able to reclaim their communities," she said.
The key speech came as official figures from the Ministry of Justice showed more than half of the almost 17,000 Asbos issued between June 2000 and December 2008 were breached, leading to an immediate custodial sentence in more than half of the cases.
But shadow home secretary Alan Johnson defended Asbos, which were brought in to deal with persistent minor offenders whose actions might not otherwise have been punished, saying they made huge contributions towards tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
"The Home Secretary demonstrates a lack of understanding about the powers already available to the police," he said
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/836408-asbos-may-be-axed-in-sweeping-changes
Anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) may be axed as the Government signalled its intention to turn the system for dealing with yobbish behaviour on its head.
(1) (http://www.metro.co.uk/news/836408-asbos-may-be-axed-in-sweeping-changes#comments)Related Tags:London (http://www.metro.co.uk/explore/locations/cities/london)behaviour (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=behaviour)police (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=police)community (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=community)power (http://www.metro.co.uk/search?q=power)
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2010/07/28/article-1280330226470-0A98FF52000005DC-152725_223x335.jpg Home Secretary Theresa May made a key speech on anti-social behaviour
Home Secretary Theresa May today said: "It is time for us to stop tolerating anti-social behaviour."
Strong community action must be used instead to bring back a sense of personal and social responsibility and to make anti-social behaviour "unusual, abnormal and something to stand up to", she said.
"We must turn the system on its head," Mrs May said. "There is no magic Whitehall lever we can pull simply to stop anti-social behaviour. No magic button to press or tap to turn to stop the flow of misery.
"The solution to your community's problems will not come from officials sitting in the Home Office working on the latest national action plan.
"We will put power into the hands of our citizens and we will put our trust into the professionals."
Speaking at the Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre in Southwark, London, Mrs May said one person in every seven believes their local area suffers from high levels of anti-social behaviour, leading to millions of tarnished lives and costing billions of pounds a year to tackle.
"We need to make anti-social behaviour what it once was - unusual, abnormal and something to stand up to - instead of what it has become: frequent, normal and tolerated," she said.
Government proposals include a sweeping crackdown on binge drinking, reforming the licensing laws and a bid to make police a more responsive and accountable part of local communities.
Mrs May said she wants officers to be able to use their "common sense" to deal with anti-social behaviour, with punishments being "rehabilitative and restorative" rather than "criminalising".
She added that while police are often the first port of call for victims, "they have not always taken anti-social behaviour seriously enough".
"It's time to move beyond the Asbo," she said. "We need a complete change in emphasis, with communities working with the police and other agencies to stop bad behaviour escalating that far."
Communities need to be given the power to bring about their own change, and police and councils need the right tools to get their jobs done, she said.
Plans include incentives for unemployed people to make work pay, regaining discipline in schools by putting teachers back in control of their classrooms and encouraging young people to take responsibility through National Citizen Service.
Solutions to stop anti-social behaviour also need to come from communities themselves, Mrs May said.
"We will back those who step in when it is right to do so and we will support people so that they are willing and able to reclaim their communities," she said.
The key speech came as official figures from the Ministry of Justice showed more than half of the almost 17,000 Asbos issued between June 2000 and December 2008 were breached, leading to an immediate custodial sentence in more than half of the cases.
But shadow home secretary Alan Johnson defended Asbos, which were brought in to deal with persistent minor offenders whose actions might not otherwise have been punished, saying they made huge contributions towards tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
"The Home Secretary demonstrates a lack of understanding about the powers already available to the police," he said