Number of ASBOs issued in Cambridgeshire soars

The number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued in Cambridgeshire soared by 96% between 2004 and 2005.

The number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) issued in Cambridgeshire soared by 96% between 2004 and 2005, according to figures obtained by Shailesh Vara, the Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire. The data, up to 31st December 2005, is the latest available from the Home Office.

50 ASBOs were issued in Cambridgeshire in 2005, up from 26 in 2004. Of these, 14 were issued against persons under the age of 18. This upward trend was repeated across the whole of England and Wales with the number of ASBOs issued going up from 3,440 in 2004 to 4,060 in 2005 - a rise of 18%.

However, Mr Vara has expressed his concern that, currently, the terms of nearly half of all ASBOs nationally are broken by offenders. He has called for greater measures to be taken to ensure that the Orders are adhered to.

Mr Vara said:

"Antisocial behaviour damages people's lives, whether it occurs in the form of rowdy youths on street corners, persistent perpetrators of low level crime or even vindictive neighbours. Used in conjunction with effective community based policing, ASBOs can be a useful tool in preventing antisocial behaviour in communities. I therefore welcome the fact that ASBOs are being used more in Cambridgeshire.

"However, for these Order's to be effective, they must be properly policed. Recent research has shown that nearly half of all ASBOs are breached by offenders. The figures for such breaches in Cambridgehsire is 35%, but that is still too high.

"The police and local authorities must ensure that the terms of the ASBOs are adhered to. Otherwise they risk being seen by the public as little more than a gimmick used by the Government to only give an impression of dealing with crime.