What are Anti-Social Behaviour Orders?

An ASBO is a civil order and is the final stage of the process to tackle anti-social behaviour. Before an ASBO is considered, warning letters, mediation and ABCs will be used to try and stop the behaviour. If an ASBO is breached, the perpetrator may face a prison sentence of up to 5 years.

How are they used?

Following reports of anti-social behaviour in a specific area, the Council and Police ask the complainant to provide incident reports to help identify the person/people responsible.

Once those responsible are identified, options of how to deal with the incidents are agreed which, in the first instance, may involve inviting the person to an interview to sign an ABC. If the behaviour is sufficiently problematic then it may be agreed to go straight to ASBO proceedings. This would involve the Police opening a case file and gathering evidence. The Police would have to submit an application for an ASBO within 6 months of the antisocial behaviour activities.