Asbo Applications Up By 24% Over Year

Anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) have been in force since 1998, but in 2004 the measures were extended to include children. The legislation pledged to improve lives for communities plagued by gangs, noise and nuisance by invoking Asbos or dispersal zones.

In September 2005, a 14-year-old became the first child in Scotland to receive an Asbo after terrorising a community. The teenager, from Renfrewshire, was banned from entering certain areas, from assaulting or endangering others, using threatening words or actions, damaging other people’s property or entering land without being invited.
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Two months later, the village of Mid Calder in West Lothian was turned into a dispersal zone to prevent gangs of youngsters from roaming its streets.

It was the first move of its kind in Scotland on such a scale and gave police the powers to break up groups of two or more if they were causing alarm or distress to members of the public.

In June last year, Jack McConnell, First Minister, complained that councils and chief constables had not made enough use of the new powers.

He spoke of his “absolute dismay”, saying it was “inexcusable” that they were failing to take advantage of the new legislation.

But figures published last month showed there had been a 24% rise in applications to courts for Asbos over one year.

In 2005/06, councils applied to the courts for 309 Asbos and social landlords for 35, with five of the 32 local authorities – Dundee, North Lanarkshire, Edinburgh, Fife and North Ayrshire – accounting for more than half of applications.

The number of Asbos which were granted more than doubled over two years, from 117 in 2003/04 to 255 in 2005/06.

In August last year, around 6581 people attended a roadshow on antisocial behaviour, which travelled to 16 locations from Greenock to Inverness. It resulted in 773 referrals to local agencies.