Asbos are back: Labour unveils 'respect orders' to tackle anti-social behaviour

The government has announced plans to introduce respect orders, which will give police new powers to crack down on anti-social behaviour, as ITV News' Louisa Britton reports

Remember Asbos? Well, they are back.

Labour has rebranded the infamous Anti-Social Behaviour Orders - which were scrapped by the Tories in 2014 - and announced a “a modernised version” called "respect orders", which seek to crackdown on repeat offenders.

Failing to comply with the orders – set out in Labour’s election manifesto as part of the party’s promise to “return law and order to our streets” – will be a criminal offence.

As well as up to two years in prison, courts could hand out unlimited fines and order those who flout the rules to carry out unpaid work or abide by a curfew, the Home Office said.

The measures would make sure the “most serious offenders are dealt with before their behaviour can escalate and cause further harm”, the Home Office said.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said too many town centres and neighbourhoods were being “plagued by anti-social behaviour” and this “chips away at communities’ sense of confidence and pride, undermines local businesses and can have a devastating impact on victims”

“This cannot be allowed to continue," she added. "Respect orders will give police and councils the powers they need to crack down on repeated anti-social behaviour, keeping our communities safe and ensuring repeat offenders face the consequences of their actions.

“These new powers alongside thousands more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs will help this Government deliver on our mission to take back our streets.”

With respect orders, police and councils will be handed powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public places such as high streets and parks, with officers able to arrest anyone breaching their order.

Perpetrators could also be told to take anger management courses or attend rehabilitation treatment for drug and alcohol problems to address the causes of their behaviour under the plans.

Police will no longer have to issue a warning before seizing vehicles, allowing forces to tackle the “scourge of off-road bikes in parks and dangerous e-scooters on pavements, street racing and cruising” quicker as well as disperse car meets which can sometimes attract hundreds of cars and lead to “loud aggressive engine revving and intimidating music”, the Home Office said.

The plans will partially replace civil injunction powers for adults so a “wider range of penalties” is available.

According to officials, the measures are set to be introduced to Parliament as part of a Crime and Policing Bill, with a trial planned if the law comes into force to make sure they are “as effective as possible” before the rules are put in place across England and Wales.

What happened to asbos?

Asbos were first brought in by the Tony Blair government in 1998 and the acronym was so omnipresent in the early 2000s that it entered the Oxford Dictionary as a new word in 2005.

They were initially hailed as a tool which helped police crackdown on anti-social behaviour and associated crime rates began to fall - but as then-home secretary Theresa May said in 2010, they "often criminalised young people unnecessarily, acting as a conveyor belt to serious crime and prison".

Asbos, which are still used in Scotland, were eventually replaced in the rest of the UK with Criminal Behaviour Orders and Crime Prevention Injuctions by the Conservatives in 2014.

Ms Cooper said: “The Conservatives weakened the powers that were available for action on anti-social behaviour. We’re strengthening the powers, and also were putting neighbourhood police back on the beat.”

UK sees one million anti-social behaviour reports in just 12 months

In the year to September 2023, about one million anti-social behaviour incidents were reported to the police.

Last month a watchdog said police “must and can do better” in cracking down on anti-social behaviour.

Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman called for a “renewed focus” on staffing neighbourhood police teams, who are often the first to deal with such incidents.

Most police forces in England and Wales need to improve the way they identify, record and respond to anti-social behaviour, as well as how they protect victims, his inspection report said.

Deputy Chief Constable Andy Prophet, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on anti-social behaviour, said: “Respect orders will give the police and councils the ability to crack down on those who persistently make our streets and public spaces feel unsafe.”

Have you heard The Trapped? Listen as Daniel Hewitt exposes the UK's dirty secret