Minister denies 'going soft on yobs'

4:04am Friday 9th May 2008

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A LARGE fall in the use of anti-social behaviour contracts (Asbos) in the region does not mean the police are going soft on louts, the Home Secretary said yesterday.

In a key speech relaunching the Respect agenda, Jacqui Smith said forces and local councils were now using other - quicker - measures to crack down on troublemakers.

Hailing a big increase in acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) and parenting contracts, Ms Smith said: "There is no let-up in tackling anti-social behaviour."

She said she had urged police to go further by "harassing" badly-behaved youths, openly filming them and hounding them at home to make their lives a misery.

Ms Smith's hardline comments came as the Home Office revealed the number of Asbos issued in the region fell from 302 in 2005 to 203 the following year - a fall of 33 per cent.

Only Cleveland bucked the trend, with a rise of 33 per cent. There were sharp falls in Northumbria (61 per cent) and North Yorkshire (21 per cent).

Similarly, across England and Wales, Asbos - for so long the flagship policy to tackle low-level crime - fell by a third in 12 months, from 4,123 in 2005 to 2,706 in 2006.

The Tories leapt on the statistics as evidence that the Government was "giving up on Asbos", because so many of the orders are breached.

Saying that ABCs were no more successful, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, said: "The Home Secretary is simply saying what we have been telling her for a decade - that if you put more police on the streets, you will cut crime."

Ms Smith said: "We are not taking it easy on anti-social behaviour, we are getting in early - putting a stop to problems before they get out of control and before Asbos are required."

The figures prove a shift away from Asbos in the region, with a total of 3,392 ABCs and 1,492 parental orders or contracts issued up to September last year.

Cleveland (872 ABCs, 581 parental orders/contracts) and Northumbria (2,002 ABCs, 672 parental orders/contracts) are leading the way.

ABCs are voluntary agreements to persuade troublemakers to "take responsibility for unacceptable behaviour" - with the threat of an Asbo if they do not.

A parenting contract, also voluntary, aims to change a child's behaviour - perhaps by attending school regularly, or staying at home at certain times. It can be turned into a court-issued parenting order.

In her speech, Ms Smith urged police to follow the example of the Essex force, whose four-day "frame and shame" operations film and harass persistent offenders on problem estates.

Those guilty of anti-social behaviour should also have their road tax, car insurance, TV licence and council tax payments checked, she said.

Insisting louts must have "nowhere to hide", Ms Smith said: "I want police and local agencies to focus on them, by giving them a taste of their own medicine."

The speech came as a relief to Blarite Labour MPs, who have criticised Gordon Brown for all-but abandoning the hardline Respect agenda pioneered by Tony Blair.