New figures published in July 2005 show a sharp rise in the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). ASBOs were designed to criminalise whole sections of the working class, whilst protecting the interests of the rich. Since their introduction in April 1999 ASBOs have been increasingly used against the most oppressed and vulnerable sections of society – including working class youth, travellers, prostitutes and people with mental health problems. ASBOs are being used against children at an accelerating rate with the number of orders issued against 10 to 15-year-olds rising fourfold in the last five years.
The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 gives police and local councils the right to impose curfews and restrict the movements of young people. However, a 15-year-old boy, known as ‘W’, has recently challenged these powers. Two high court judges ruled that police should not be granted detainment powers unless they suspect a criminal or anti-social offence has been committed. This is a victory for all young people.
The Home Office’s own statistics show that 34% of all ASBOs (1,528) issued since April 1999 were issued between June and December 2004. This shows a massive rise in the use of ASBOs and is 51% of the total of ASBOs given in the first five years.
The majority of ASBOs are being imposed in some of the poorest areas in the country. Greater Manchester Council has now issued a total of 710 ASBOs – 28% of which have been issued in the six-month period from June to December 2004. Greater London has seen the most significant rise in the use of ASBOs with over 40% of ASBOs issued there given in that same period. The West Midlands and West Yorkshire also have high numbers of ASBOs with 37% and 32% respectively of total ASBOs for this period being in these areas. These four areas account for approximately 40% of all ASBOs given across the country.
The government is intensifying its attack on working class youth. More than half of all ASBOs have been imposed on people under the age of 18. However, youth are not targeted indiscriminately. The children of the rich do not face the harsh realities forced upon the working class and laws against anti-social behaviour specifically target the poor.
Breaching ASBOs is linked to the imprisonment of approximately 50 children every month. At least 400 children have been handed custodial sentences for breach of ASBOs. These draconian measures have forced criticism from sections of the ruling class. Even the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner, Alvaro Gil-Robles, has criticised Britain’s use of ASBOs for criminalising children and said that no-one under the age of 16 should be at risk of imprisonment.
ASBOs are increasingly being used against people with mental health problems. The British Institute for Brain Injured Children has identified 15 cases where children with special needs, including Asperger’s syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, have received ASBOs. A 12-year-old girl from the Midlands was given an ASBO for swearing in the street despite suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. A 15-year-old boy was given an ASBO for the same offence despite suffering from Tourette’s. A paranoid schizophrenic was given an ASBO after being given inadequate support and treatment for his illness.
A recent study in Leeds has shown that around a third of anti-social behaviour cases have involved someone with a mental health problem. Not only is the state refusing to provide the care and attention needed by people with mental illnesses, it actually punishes them by prosecuting them for being ‘anti-social’. This helps the government to deny the scale of these illnesses by discarding those affected.
ASBOs and other legislation brought in to ‘tackle anti-social behaviour’ do not provide an answer to the genuine problems of crime and anti-social behaviour which beset working class communities, but are a further tool for oppressing those very communities. The fundamental aim of these measures is the protection of the privileged lifestyle of the middle class. They offer no solution to the alienation of unemployed working class youth. Instead, they are used to further divide and rule communities, by demonising any individuals or groups who, for whatever reason, do not or will not ‘fit in’ or quietly put up with their lot.
Heather Keating
FRFI 186 August / September 2005
