NO - Rob Allen, director, International Centre for Prison Studies, King's College London
It's better to have officials reporting to the same minister. This is not the most sensible approach. Dealing with antisocial behaviour needs a balanced approach. The residual Home Office is dealing with enforcement and security, but when you're dealing with antisocial behaviour, you need to look at parenting, activities for young people and education.
NO - Paul Cavadino, chief executive, Nacro
Similar preventive mea- sures are needed to divert young people from both crime and antisocial behaviour. Youth offending teams should always be involved in planning preventive work before any resort to criminal prosecution or antisocial behaviour orders. Coordinating these policies would be easier if antisocial behaviour and youth justice policies were in the same ministry - preferably the Department for Education and Skills but, failing that, the Ministry of Justice.
YES - Andy Robinson, senior policy adviser on antisocial behaviour, Youth Justice Board
Antisocial behaviour cuts across most areas of government responsibility. Co-ordinating an effective approach to antisocial behaviour and youth justice depends more on the will and the connections of the relevant agencies involved than which departments manage the policies. This will not hinder our ability to reach an appropriate model for working with young people either involved in, or at risk of, offending or committing antisocial behaviour.
YES - Kate Stanley, head of social policy, Institute for Public Policy Research
The antisocial behaviour and respect strategies require a different approach to that of youth justice. For a start, it's not just young people who are responsible for antisocial behaviour. And in practice it shouldn't matter where responsibility for these strategies are located if people are talking to one another and working collaboratively.
