the use of asbos in scotland hal pawson, heriot-watt university, edinburgh

The Use of ASBOs in Scotland

Hal Pawson, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

School of the Built Environment

Presentation Outline

• Scotland’s ASBO regime• Trends in use of ASBOs• Types of misconduct prompting ASBO

applications• ASB perpetrators subject to ASBOs• Evidence on impacts and outcomes

• Draws on Scottish Government research undertaken by DTZ Pieda Research and Heriot-Watt University


Research Methodology

• Annual questionnaire surveys of all Scottish LAs and HAs

• Focus group discussions with ‘ASBO practitioners’

• Case study work in 4 LAs (Dumfries & Galloway, Dundee, Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire)– Interviews with key stakeholder agency staff– Casefile reviews of recent ASBO cases– Analysis of restrictions specified in recent

ASBOs


ASBO Regime in Scotland – Key Differences from England & Wales

• LAs are the main ‘lead agency’; police role essentially supportive

• Until 2004, ASBOs could be sought only for ASB perpetrators aged 16 and over

• ASBOs now obtainable for ASB perpetrators aged 12-15 but…– Proposed ASBO application must be endorsed

by Children’s Hearing– Breach of ASBO by a person aged 12-15 cannot

be punished by custodial sentence


National Trends in ASBO Use

• Rising ASBO numbers in Scotland tailing off – estimated 10% increase in 2006/07

• ASBO numbers proportionately greater in England since 2003/04

• No English ASBO statistics published for 2006

• Scottish Government has ceased to collect ASBO statistics since 2005/06

• Estimated 2006/07 figure informed by non-official source (Scottish Housing Best Value Network benchmarking data)

Rate of ASBOs Granted, 1999-2007

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20

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60

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80

1999

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2000

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2001

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No o

f ASBO

s gra

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100,0

00 p

opula

tion

Scotland

England

Note: England figures are for calendar years


ASBOs vs. Alternative ‘Enforcement’ Measures

• Signs of inverse relationship between ASBO applications and LA eviction actions

• Appropriate comparison given that most ASBO applications relate to social tenants

• Hypothesis that ASBOs increasingly substituted for ‘big stick’ of threat to tenancy

• But need to bear in mind that eviction actions also increasingly substituted by conversion of tenancy to SSST status

Trends in LA ASB-triggered Eviction Actions and ASBO

Applications

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250

300

350

2001

/ 02

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2003

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2004

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ASBO

applica

tions

annually

ASB eviction actions entered in court

ASBO applications by LAs


Variability of ASBO Use

• Rates of ASBO use per 100,000 households among larger LAs vary from over 80 to 3

• Major unanswered questions about such variability – e.g. to what extent can ‘low use’ LAs demonstrate more effective alternative approaches?

• Scottish LAs generally some way ‘down the rankings’ of ASBO users

• Dissatisfaction among ministers in former administration at ‘ASBO inaction’ of Glasgow (lowest ASBO rate in graphic)

• SNP manifesto pledged to:– ‘Review and improve’ ASBO

regime– Look at giving ASBO powers to

community councils

Rates of ASBOs Granted for Larger LAs in England & Scotland

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

No of ASBOs granted per 100,000 households

Notes:

1. Average annual ‘ASBOs granted’ rate for 2004/05 and 2005/06

2. Scottish LAs shown in red


Types of Misconduct Triggering ASBOs

• 80% of ASBOs issued in response to misconduct in or near perpetrator’s home• Small but rising % of ASBOs triggered by offences in commercial or public

areas – up from 3% in 2003/04 to 12% in 2005/06. These tend to involve:– Prolific shoplifters– Individuals acting antisocially in offices of local services– Rowdy behaviour in parks

• Commonest trigger for ASBO action: disturbance of neighbours by ‘excess noise’ in the home

• Around two thirds of ASBOs triggered by ‘criminal’ activities – in some instances ASBO action clearly initiated instead of criminal proceedings

Cases involving alleged offences of a criminal nature

Type of ‘offence’ % of all cases reviewed

Assault/violent threats/intimidation 46

Vandalism 13

Theft 8

Breach of the peace 5

Domestic violence 3

Housebreaking 3

Prostitution 2


Profile of ‘ASBO Perpetrators’ (1)

• Some 80% of individuals subject to ASBOs live in social housing

• Reinforces impression of ASBOs as largely a ‘housing management tool’

• Only a minority of ‘ASBO subjects’ are young people – sharp contrast with England

• Virtually no ASBOs granted in respect of school-age children

• Women accounted for 38% of ‘ASBO subjects’ in 2005/06

ASBOs granted in 2005/ 06 by Perpetrator Age

12-15

16-18

19-25

Over 25

2005/ 06 ASBO perpetrators by housing tenure

Social renters

No fixed abode

Home owners

Private tenants


Profile of ‘ASBO Perpetrators’ (2)

• Mitigating factors/underlying problems clearly evident in more than half of cases examined in casefile review

• In all identified cases involving mental ill-health or learning difficulties support of some kind was provided prior to or alongside ASBO application

Mitigating factor/underlying problem % of cases reviewed

Alcohol abuse 27

Drug abuse 17

Mental ill-health 9

Learning difficulties 2


ASBO Prohibitions and Terms

• Reflecting the predominance of noise as an ASBO trigger, most ASBOs specify noise constraint

• ASBO duration reflects differing LA policies

Nature of ASBO Constraints (case study LAs)

0 20 40 60 80

Other constraint

Banned contact with individual

Area constraint only

Noise constraint

% of ASBOs analysed

ASBO duration (case study LAs)

1 year or less

1-3 years

3 years or more


ASBO Effectiveness (1)

• Measuring incidence of ‘ASBO breaches’ proved difficult; several factors here:– LAs considered monitoring breaches ‘not our job’– Police records of breach cases not linked to LA records of ASBOs

granted– Criminal proceedings frequently taking place alongside ASBO

action – ASBO breach not infrequently a criminal act in itself– Opportunities for ASBO breach limited in cases where subject

subsequently arrested for unconnected offence• Casefile review found that:

– in 60% of ASBO cases further complaints about subject’s conduct were made following imposition of Order

– 49% of ASBOs allegedly breached• In only 10% of breach cases where information was available

had this led to imprisonment• Scotttish Courts data shows 192 ASBO breach convictions in

2005/06. Given the 482 ASBOs reportedly in place on 31 March 2006 this suggests a ‘breach conviction rate’ of about 40%.


ASBO Effectiveness (2)

• LA staff responsible for cases reviewed identified 28% where post-ASBO behaviour had noticeably improved

• In 31% of cases no improvement had been seen

• By implication, this will also have been true of the 5% of subjects evicted

• Improving on this very simplistic assessment of ‘ASBO effectiveness’ would require more substantial research

ASBO outcome %

Substantially improved behaviour

20

Improved behaviour 8

Terminated tenancy 16

Evicted 5

Imprisoned/placed in secure unit

3

Sectioned 1

No improvement in behaviour 31

Too early to say/don’t know 16


Messages on ‘ASBO effectiveness’ from York University study of street homeless people

• JRF study led by Suzanne Fitzpatrick – report July 2007• Fieldwork in 5 localities in England found that strategies to

suppress street homelessness considered successful by LAs• Use of ASBOs a key element within LA strategies, though no. of

Orders issued much lower than implied by media• Risk of lengthy imprisonment for ASBO breach clearly

understood by most ‘ASBO subjects’ and consequently an effective deterrent

• For some of those involved, ASBOs prompted positive reflection and change in behaviour – e.g. engagement with drug rehabilitation services

• Effectiveness of enforcement-style approaches dependent on graduated actions and integration with support services – not always evident

• Even if integrated with support provision, enforcement-style approaches inappropriate and ineffective for the most vulnerable street homeless


Messages from Systematic Review of Approaches to Tackling ASB

• Rand researchers commissioned by NAO to review effectiveness of ASB interventions internationally

• Weakness of evaluation culture in UK reflected by insufficient data to judge effectiveness of tools such as ASBOs or Youth Justice support measures

• Limited international evidence (mainly US) suggests effective interventions include parenting training and early childhood programmes

• Programme evaluations meta-analysis showed ‘deterrent’ or coercive sanctions tended to have negative effects on recidivism among young people

• While Home Office commissioned ASBO effectiveness evaluation, this was only relatively small scale and remains unpublished long after completion

• Meanwhile, policy push arguably continues to be driven by enforcement-style model


Summary/Conclusions

• Use of ASBOs continues to expand, though apparently tailing off

• Wide variations in use of ASBOs from area to area• In the Scottish context, ASBOs still largely a social

landlord ‘housing management tool’• Marked Scotland/England contrast on profile of

persons subject to Orders• Somewhat ambiguous evidence as regards ASBO

effectiveness in Scotland• Change of government May 2007 brings possibility

of new thinking on ASBO regime – though no definite evidence as yet


References

• DTZ Pieda Research & Heriot-Watt University (2007) Monitoring the Use of ASBOs in Scotland; http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/198276/0053019.pdf

• Johnsen, S. & Fitzpatrick, S. (2007) The Impact of Enforcement on Street Users in England; Bristol: Policy Press http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/details.asp?pubID=904

• Rubin, J., Rabinovich, L., Hallsworth, M. and Nason, E. (2006) Interventions to Reduce Anti-social Behaviour and Crime: A review of effectiveness and costs; London: National Audit Office; http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/06-07/060799_rand_europe.pdf

the use of asbos in scotland hal pawson, heriot-watt university, edinburgh

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