Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs)

If someone has committed a number of anti-social offences, they may be issued with an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO). Anyone over the age of 10 can receive one.

ASBOs are court orders that can stop an offender going to a certain area or spending time with certain people. There are a number of organisations that can apply for one, including the police, a local authority and the British Transport Police. ASBOs have been designed to protect members of the public from anti-social behaviour instead of punishing the offender, and to prevent similar behaviour in the future. In Elmbridge the most common type of ASBO issued is a Post Conviction ASBO issued in the magistrates court. There must be a direct link between the ongoing anti social behaviour that a person is doing and the conditions to try and stop it continuing. Post-conviction ASBOs are requested from the court when a person is found guilty of a criminal offence.

If an ASBO is issued, it will last for at least two years. However, the order is reviewed on a regular basis. This means that if someone's behaviour shows improvement, then certain conditions of the ASBO may be removed or changed.

If you are subject to an ASBO, you will not get a criminal record unless a court finds you guilty of breaking the order.

Examples of what an ASBO can ban people from doing are:

• threatening, intimidating or disruptive actions
• spending time with a particular group of friends
• visiting certain areas

ASBOs are designed to protect specific victims, neighbours, or even whole communities from behaviour that has frightened or intimidated them, or damaged their quality of life.

These are civil orders - not criminal penalties - so they won't appear on a suspect's criminal record. However, if that person breaches an ASBO, they have committed a criminal offence, which is punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison for an adult over the age of 18 years and up to 1 year in prison and 1 year community penalty for a person aged 14 to 18 years. For youths aged between 10 and 14 can receive a community penalty..

Who can apply for an ASBO?

Any one of the following agencies can apply for an ASBO to be issued against a trouble-maker:

• local authorities
• police forces
• registered social landlords and housing action trusts

But first, those who are suffering must report the problem. If you're being harassed, or if you're life is being damaged, contact your local police force, or your local neighbourhood policing team, and ask for help.

Anti-Social Behaviour Order on Conviction (CRASBO)

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as amended, allows the criminal courts to make an order equivalent to an ASBO prohibiting the defendant from doing anything specified in the order, after that person has been convicted of a relevant offence (i.e. one that is committed on or after 2 December 2002). An order on conviction is a civil order and therefore the civil rules of evidence apply. The order is in addition to the criminal sentence and is considered separately from the criminal part of the proceedings. An order on conviction has the same effect as an ASBO: it lasts for a minimum of two years and a breach of terms is a criminal offence.

Individual Support Orders (ISO)

Individual Support Orders can be attached to an ASBO against a person aged between 10 and 17. They contain positive obligations designed to tackle the underlying causes of the person's anti-social behaviour, and are usually overseen by a member of the youth offending team or social services. The orders can last for up to six months, and can require the young person to attend up to two sessions a week. Failure to comply is a criminal offence.