Asbo breach rate among young teenagers hits 73%

Latest figures show authorities now regard antisocial behaviour orders as ineffective

The final blow was dealt today to the asbo, Tony Blair’s measure to deal with yob culture, with figures showing that breach rates reached 73% among young teenagers.

Ministry of Justice figures show that the number of asbos issued by the courts fell to only 1,671 in 2009, confirming the year-by-year decline from a peak of 4,122 in 2005, when the Blair government launched its biggest drive against antisocial behaviour.

The figures show that, despite denials by Labour ministers, more than 5,500 people have been jailed for breaching an asbo since they were introduced in 1999.

The latest published statistics for 2009 confirm that local authorities and the police have come to regard the antisocial behaviour order as a blunt instrument, which has been replaced by a battery of other more targeted and less punitive measures, such as acceptable behaviour contracts and individual support orders.

The home secretary, Theresa May, announced her intention to kill off the asbo last October, when she argued that they had too often put young people on a conveyor belt to prison.

The figures published today show that 18,670 asbos were issued between 1999 and 2009. More than 15,900 were issued to teenage boys and adult men, for an average period of two to three years.

Asbos – a civil order – were increasingly used as an additional punishment for a criminal conviction instead of as an alternative to prosecution. By 2009, 58% of asbos were issued following a criminal conviction.Asbo conditions have included exclusion zones and bans on going to certain places at certain times, or from meeting certain people.

The official figures show why they were increasingly regarded as a badge of honour by young offenders, with the breach rate among 12-14-year-olds reaching 73%.

The average breach rate for the asbos since 1999 works out at 56% (or 10,380) that were breached at least once, with 41% (or 7,682) breached more than once.

In 2009, 1,133 of the asbos in force at the time were breached for the first time. Offenders who disregarded the conditions of their asbo breached them on average 4.4 times. Just over half of those who breached their asbo were given an immediate custodial sentence, with an average prison sentence of just over five months.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “As the home secretary has said, the current tools and powers for dealing with antisocial behaviour are too bureaucratic and don’t work effectively. These statistics on asbos, for example, show that 56% of those issued have been breached, many more than once.”