Britain's plans for replacing antisocial behaviour orders will repeat previous failings, campaigners warned today.
Home Secretary Theresa May intends to replace antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos) with a new community trigger to force police to investigate any incident of antisocial behaviour reported by at least five people.
Her proposals will create a back door to custody for people who have not committed a criminal offence, more than 60 organisations in the Criminal Justice Alliance said.
The measures, which will be published in a white paper today, aim to put an end to cases where victims are ignored despite making repeated complaints to the authorities about problem neighbours.
As the Home Secretary ends Labour’s Asbos which have been described as a badge of honour among antisocial youths by critics, Mrs May will bring in streamlined measures designed to ensure police take incidents of low-level nuisance seriously.
Police will have to take action to tackle nuisance behaviour if five people in different homes across the same neighbourhood complain, or if one person complains on three separate occasions, under a new “community trigger” power. It is expected to be introduced in three pilot schemes in Manchester, Brighton and Hove and West Lindsey, Lincolnshire.
Asbos and 18 other measures are also expected to be replaced with a streamlined system of six measures that target people, places and police powers.
Mrs May is expected to announce a new Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) to ban an individual from particular activities or places.
Civil Crime Prevention Injunctions (CPI) are also expected to be brought in to give agencies an immediate power to protect victims and communities by stopping bad behaviour before it escalates. The lower standard of proof for civil orders such as the CPI means they can be put in place in days or even hours.
Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, director of the Criminal Justice Alliance, warned enforcement powers alone will not be enough to prevent antisocial behaviour.
“There is a risk that if these new measures are not accompanied by necessary support in communities - youth clubs, family support and health services - they will do little in the long term to tackle this important issue,” she said.
“There is a real risk that these new orders will result in more and more people being sent to prison for breaching their order when the original offence would not have warranted custody.
“Our prisons are already severely overcrowded, and we know that warehousing people who often have social or health needs can make them more not less likely to reoffend," Ms Helyar-Cardwell added.
PA