Government must come clean over ASBO failures - Wilson
Ulster Unionist South Antrim assembly member, Jim Wilson, has raised concerns that, despite growing public concerns over anti-social behaviour, ASBO legislation appears to have been an unqualified failure here.
The UUP MLA has said that with just eight ASBOs issued since 2004, government should come clean as to whether it bungled its much-hyped legislation.
In a statement, Mr Wilson said: “According to new research, Europeans feel that the UK has among the worst anti-social behaviour problems on the continent - and more than eight out of 10 Britons feel that anti-social behaviour is a growing problem.
“The problem of yobbish behaviour is a major issue for people in my constituency. Yet given increasing public concerns, ASBOs do not appear to be having the desired effect.
“Since the introduction of ASBOs in August 2004, they’ve been used just eight times. This despite the fact that then Criminal Justice Minister John Spellar vowed these tough new laws would be used ‘early and effectively’.
“As recently as two months ago, Peter Hain also reassured the House of Commons that ASBOs ‘will continue to be deployed with energy and confidence in Northern Ireland, where they can be just as effective as in Great Britain’.
“I don’t think people here buy any of that. They know the reality is quite different. Fine words from Ministers are no replacement for firm action.”
He added “Government has to come clean: Is there an institutional unwillingness to issue ASBOs? Is the ASBO fit for purpose? Is the fact that so few have been issued not a signal that the government bungled the legislation?
“Or if we take the government’s commitments at face value, then they must be saying that, despite all the evidence, Northern Ireland has a miniscule rate of anti-social behaviour. Clearly, that would be completely ridiculous position to take.”
Concluding he said: “Cautions and non-custodial sanctions are increasingly important to the judicial process. The Home Office’s own figures state that in the 1960s only about 10% of offenders were dealt with by caution – by the 1990s that figure had risen to over one third of all offenders.
“ABSOs are not a catch-all solution to tackling anti-social behaviour, but they are an important tool to clamping down on yob culture.
“Government may promise reviews and delay confronting difficult questions, but that holds no comfort for the victims of anti-social behaviour. The NIO’s credibility is on the line - if government is more about public interest than self interest it will sort this mess out now rather than persistently duck the issue.”