Government pressure/bribery on LA’s to implement asbo policy

Dear Julie

I am concerned about this government pressure on LAs. will you assure me that this policy will not apply to Wales. Do you agree that the Welsh Assembly Government policy is different and that they should have the right to implement policyas they see fit and not have to answer to Louise Casey or have Casey interfer in LA policy in Wales.

Casey said the areas were selected based on high levels of anti-social behaviour but also on truancy, exclusion from school and other issues indicating deprivation.
"We approached these local authorities and asked if they wanted to become respect areas and now they have signed up for it," said Casey.


‘Prevention is better than cure And they should be regarded very much as a last resort’ Edwina Hart AM. Rhodri Morgan said the term "respect agenda" was not being used by the Welsh Assembly Government. The Assembly’s view is that ASBOs should be regarded very much as a last resort and should only be invoked when all other means of curbing the nuisance behaviour have been.
Two of the Welsh Chief Constables responded to a request from the Minister for their views on the effectiveness of ASBOs; “There is a danger that ASBOs will be held up as a panacea to crime problems and this gives a false impression to the public who are then encouraged to look upon the numbers of ASBOs as an indicator of success. ASBOs should only be seen as one element in a menu of options.“


Historical equivalents of 'anti-social behaviour'

Rising fear of youth crime saw 'ungovernable' or 'incorrigible' children ordered into a reform programme as far back as 1806, according to archive material made available by the young people's charity Rainer.

The historical equivalent of 'anti-social behaviour' saw children as young as nine referred to the Philanthropic Society in an attempt to reform them before they became involved in crime.


Will McMahon, of think-tank the Crime and Society Foundation, says that government is moving social policy backwards in two ways: first, through the re-emergence of the “problem family”, a concept stemming from the 1950s which blames families themselves for their social problems; second, by the sense of déjà vu that long-serving social care professionals will feel as a result of the government’s approach. “The government is repeating the cycle of analysis by Sir Keith Joseph, Conservative social services minister in the 1970s, which is that problem families are the source of all our problems,” McMahon says.

Is it value for money?
Again the government for a few cherry-picked offences - in "trailblazer" areas where it has pumped in a lot of money - crime and the perception of crime has gone down a tiny amount!

See the stories in the media
Antisocial behaviour crackdown a gimmickGuardian Unlimited, UK - 4 hours agoMinisters were accused today of failing to get to grips with antisocial behaviour after plans were revealed to give 40 areas with the worst problems extra ...

No respect for Blair's respect zonesIndependent Online, South Africa - 7 hours agoLondon - The British government was accused on Wednesday of failing to get to grips with anti-social behaviour after plans were revealed to give special ...