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1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Research Context and Objectives
1.1 Antisocial Behaviour Orders (
ASBOs) are civil orders, introduced by
the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to prevent behaviour that
causes or would be likely to cause alarm or distress to
others. Breach of an Order is a criminal offence punishable
by up to five years imprisonment and a fine on indictment.
The concept was further developed under the Criminal
Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 which extended the option to
RSLs, as well as introducing interim
ASBOs. The Antisocial Behaviour etc
(Scotland) Act 2004 extends the
ASBO regime to cover 12-15 year olds
(though breach of Orders by members of this group cannot be
punished through imprisonment).
1.2 Whilst 1998 saw the introduction of
ASBO powers in England and Wales, as
well as in Scotland, it is important to recognise that the
two regimes differ in certain significant respects.
Somewhat in contrast to England and Wales, local
authorities are clearly the lead agencies in seeking
ASBOs in Scotland, with the police
playing an essentially supportive role - e.g. assisting in
evidence collection.
1.3 Importantly, the scope of
ASBO powers in the two jurisdictions has
differed in that - until October 2004 - Orders could be
sought for young people only in England and Wales, and not
in Scotland. Whilst
ASBOs can now be obtained for 12-15 year
olds in Scotland, the framework remains distinct from that
south of the border in terms of the
ASBO application process and in terms of
the consequences of
ASBO breach. Unlike in England and
Wales, a young person breaking
ASBO terms cannot be jailed. Other
significant differences in the regimes in Scotland and in
England and Wales have included the more recent
introduction of interim
ASBO powers and the scope for
ASBOs to be granted to housing
associations.
1.4 Nevertheless, the basic
ASBO concept remains common across Great
Britain. Hence, in broad terms, comparisons between
ASBO use in Scotland, on the one hand,
and England and Wales, on the other, remain legitimate.
1.5 An earlier study commissioned by the Scottish
Executive found that 226
ASBOs had been granted in Scotland from
their date of introduction to March 2003 (
CIHS, 2003). This work also established
that there were large variations in the incidence of
ASBO usage between local authorities.
However, the scope of this work did not allow for any
in-depth examination of the reasons for such variations,
nor any detailed exploration of
ASBO application processes or
outcomes.
1.6 The central aim of this new study, scheduled to run
from September 2004-February 2007, is to update the
existing research, and to examine in more depth the key
issues around the use of
ASBOs in Scotland. Specifically, the key
objectives of the study are to:
- Collect up-to-date data on the use of
ASBOs and Interim Orders by both
local authorities (
LAs) and housing associations (or
Registered Social Landlords -
RSLs)
- Collect data about the
ASBO application process and about
ASBO prohibitions, together with an
analysis of the circumstances in which the Orders are
used
- Investigate
LA and
RSL experience of using
ASBOs to gain a fuller understanding
about their effectiveness in resolving antisocial
behaviour
- Collect information about the use and effectiveness
of other measures used before, instead of, and
alongside
ASBOs - e.g. mediation, Acceptable
Behaviour Contracts, interdicts, possession actions
(for social renters) and Noise Abatement Notices
- Examine the effectiveness of new measures
introduced by part 2 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc
(Scotland) Act 2004 - and in particular its extension
of
ASBOs to 12-16 year olds
Methodology and scope of report
1.7 This report presents findings from the initial phase
of the research (September-December 2004). This involved
the following elements:
- Literature review
- Analysis of an email survey issued to all social
landlords operating in Scotland, as well as secondary
data on
ASBO use
- Focus group sessions involving local authority
staff,
RSL staff and representatives of
national stakeholder organisations
Literature review
1.8 The literature review covered existing research and
good practice guidance on the use of
ASBOs in England and Wales, as well as
in Scotland. The review incorporated findings from academic
research, as well as official publications.
Email survey
1.9 To develop a full understanding of both the extent
and nature of
ASBO use across Scotland, an email
survey of social landlords in Scotland was undertaken.
Using a survey previously carried out by the Chartered
Institute of Housing (Scotland) (
CIHS) as a starting point, the survey
collected statistical information on
ASBO applications and Orders granted in
2003/04.
1.10 The survey was issued to a total of 180 local
authorities and
RSLs operating across Scotland.
Responses were received from 114 organisations - an overall
response rate of 63% (100% for local authorities and 55%
for
RSLs). The survey form is attached as
Appendix B.
Analysis of secondary data
1.11 To supplement the email survey, and provide
historical and national trends, data was extracted from the
previous
CIHS report, as well as Home Office
statistics for England and Wales.
1.12 As the email survey drew responses from only just
over half of all
RSLs, we cross-referenced our data with
figures for
RSLs as collected by Communities
Scotland (
CS) through
CS Annual Performance Statistical
Returns (
APSR).
Focus groups
1.13 To help interpret the output from the statistical
analysis and to draw on the informed views of practitioners
and others, we held three focus group sessions. These
involved:
- a
local authority focus group with
twelve attendees from different councils. This group
bought together participants from housing departments,
specialist
ASB teams, legal departments and the
police.
- a
national stakeholder organisation focus group
involving eight attendees from a wide range of
organisations including the Scottish Retail Consortium,
Chair of a Scottish Tenants' Organisation, Scottish
Children's Reporter and the Edinburgh Chair of Justices
Committee - which oversees the operation of the
District Court.
- a
Registered Social Landlord (
RSL) focus group drawing
eight participants from different organisations -
mainly from a housing management background, although
some dedicated
ASB staff were also involved.
Data limitations
1.14 The extent to which we were able to interrogate the
data was limited in three ways:
- As the raw data from the previous
CIHS research was not available, the
scope for analysing previous years data on
ASBO deployment was limited. For
example, only 12 months data on
ASBO use by local authority area are
presented in the report.
- As the
CIHS survey collected data across
calendar years and the recent study collected data
across financial years there was an issue with the
comparability of the data. In order to overcome this
issue, the
CIHS data was reallocated into
financial years on the assumption that
ASBO activity was constant across
the 12 months. In reality,
ASBO activity is not consistent and
therefore figures for financial years up to 2003/04
will not reflect actual activity but are estimates
only. However, this method provides a strong base upon
which to understand
ASBO use.
- The
APSR made to
CS by
RSLs, although extremely useful in
facilitating cross-referencing with our own email
survey, is limited to statistics on
ASBO applications and
ASBOs granted. For more detailed
information on
ASBO use (e.g. by duration or
outcome) we have relied on the email survey. The
survey, which achieved a 55% response rate for
RSLs, does not provide a full
picture of
ASBO use within the sector.
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