Labour to review antisocial behaviour policy

On a visit to Blackpool today (13 April), shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper will announce the review, saying that many areas of the UK are still blighted by antisocial behaviour.

She hit out at the government’s proposals to replace antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos) with civil injunctions.

"The government is taking too many risks with crime and antisocial behaviour, and local communities will pay the price," Cooper said. "It's not just the cuts to police officers that worry me, they are also tying the hands of the police and local communities that want to put a stop to antisocial behaviour in their area. 

"Interim Asbos mean the police can act fast to stop harassment in serious cases, but the government wants to ditch them altogether. And their plans to replace other Asbos with much weaker civil injunctions means persistent offenders won't face the force of the criminal courts."

She admitted that Labour’s "Respect" agenda did not stamp out persistent nuisance behaviour in local communities, but said more should be done now to address the problem.

While children’s charities such as Catch22, Rathbone and The Howard League for Penal Reform welcomed the coalition government’s decision to scrap Asbos, The Children’s Society labelled the proposed replacement criminal behaviour orders as a "rebranding exercise".