Antisocial behaviour bill ‘could imprison more young people'

Proposals in the draft bill, first outlined in May 2012, are currently being scrutinised by the Home Office select committee.

In a submission to the cross-party group of MPs, the Standing Committee for Youth Justice has expressed serious concerns over the suggested use of custodial sentencing as a sanction for breaching the new Criminal Behaviour Orders, which are set to replace ASBOs.

Breach of the proposed Criminal Behaviour Order could carry a maximum prison sentence of five years.

The organisation claimed that if the already high breach-rate of under-18s is maintained under new measures, more young people could receive custodial sentences.

Penelope Gibbs, chair of the Standing Committee for Youth Justice said the sanctions being proposed are too severe.

“We have an in-principle objection to the use of custody for anything instead of a violent offence,” she said. “In youth justice you have to commit a certain level of crime in order to be sentenced or remanded to custody and here we are not talking about that.”

The organisation’s submission also highlights concerns that the practise of “naming and shaming” under-18s could become more widespread under the new legislation.

Gibbs said: “There is a presumption in this bill that naming and shaming is a good idea, it appears to us that you would have to justify not naming.”

She argued that revealing the identities of young people in trouble with the law could have a detrimental affect on their rehabilitation. ?

“If somebody is publicly as well as privately labelled there is a danger that they will feel that they can’t escape from that reputation and that their ability to succeed in work or education is threatened,” she said.

“You do not need to apply these measures to under 18-year-olds, they can be counter productive and there are far better ways of tackling anti-social behaviour.”