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Asbos ‘not working’ residents tell Echo (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Asbos ‘not working’ residents tell Echo
7:30am Friday 30th July 2010
IS this the end for the Asbo?
Home secretary Theresa May announced this week that it was time to adopt a fresh approach in the fight against the blight of anti-social behaviour. “It’s time to move beyond the Asbo,” she said.
Introduced as part of New Labour’s “tough on crime” stance in 1998, the policy has divided opinion. They were intended to curb the activities of persistent nuisances and target those who terrorised communities.
But Ministry of Justice figures show more than half the 17,000 Asbos issued between 2000 and 2008 were breached.
Previously pervaded by anti-social behaviour, Poole’s Rossmore district was precisely the kind of area Asbos were designed to bring relief to.
But residents have been almost unanimously dismissive about the effectiveness of the orders.
Henry Bardsley, 69, has lived on the Bourne Estate for 35 years and said Asbos simply had no credibility. He said: “For it to make a difference, there has to be respect for it and there isn’t.
“I don’t think the perpetrators take any notice of them.
“I’ve brought up seven children on this estate. You have got to specifically target the parents of the troublemakers.”
A resident of Stanfield Road, who asked not to be named, said Asbos were now collected as a “badge of honour” for youths in the area.
“They seemed like a good idea, but the momentum has been lost,” she said.
Asher Nardone, who has long campaigned for tougher action on troublemakers, said the time it took to get an Asbo was a “joke”.
She said: “I had to go through years of abuse and an eviction to get an Asbo in place.
“Is that working? I don’t think so. It’s a halfway house that offers no protection.”
However, most residents agreed the home secretary’s plan to hand communities power to address their own problems was a step forward. One Solly Close resident said positive action had already been taken in Rossmore.
She said: “It is about community cohesion. We all have to live together on the estate and we should all try to get along.
“The Bourne Valley Action Group is already working with the police and council here.
“And while Asbos aren’t working, other measures like the dispersal order are.”
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Your Say YourEcho
Wimwam, Wimborne says...
8:27am Fri 30 Jul 10
snake hips, walkford says...
8:30am Fri 30 Jul 10
likestocomplain, Bournemouth says...
9:55am Fri 30 Jul 10
180169, Christchurch says...
11:20am Fri 30 Jul 10
cathyfranklin, blandford says...
11:22am Fri 30 Jul 10
What is needed in place is 3 strikes and your out. And an end to just a few weeks in prison. If they have had there 3 strikes then to prison they have to go and the minimum they must serve is 2 years.
You will find in most cases of these kids that by the time they end up with asbo they have already got abotu 30 offences under there hats, then they eventually end up in prison and at that point have about 45 offences under them.
So going in with 3 strikes and your out limits the amount of victims on the end of these ferals and the system pulls them in quickly before they commit more serious crime and deals with them accordingly.
180169, Christchurch says...
11:24am Fri 30 Jul 10
beachlover, bournemouth says...
12:11pm Fri 30 Jul 10
In Absentia, Bournemouth says...
12:23pm Fri 30 Jul 10
180169, Christchurch says...
12:39pm Fri 30 Jul 10
beachlover wrote:Bet it didn't stop you smoking though.......
six of the best at school for smoking, and another six of my dad when he found out, then grounded, n i mean grounded, and i was only 14 then, now 42..
beachlover, bournemouth says...
12:43pm Fri 30 Jul 10
180169, Christchurch says...
1:06pm Fri 30 Jul 10
cathyfranklin, blandford says...
1:31pm Fri 30 Jul 10
A judge will hand down a 6 month sentence (if your lucky) of which straight away time is taken off for guilty plea and then any time in remand then all the other guidelines they have to go by that the sentencing council set out, this end up with the criminal doing maybe 2 months of the 6 month sentence..a month into the sentence a rehabilitation course starts of where they then learn things from a victims side of things.
This course lasts for 6 months minimum...now it doesnt take much working out does it? they end up doing a month of so on course then released = wasted money on course and they have left the same as they went in. This is a failed system and happens every single week. A complete shake up of sentencing needs to happen. So short sentences dont work but higher the sentence then rehabilitation can work on minor cases. It doesnt take a genuis to work out a new system. Need to get tough from the minute these kids are known to the authories.
180169, Christchurch says...
1:50pm Fri 30 Jul 10
BROCKSDAD, HAMWORTHY says...
2:06pm Fri 30 Jul 10
180169 wrote:There are millions of people out there that were brought up in the same situation that are totally honest and have never broke the law in their life, why should those who wont conform to the rules of society get all the rewards.
Philistine. Anger to solve anger will never work. Many underprivileged youth have no hope, which leads to anti-social behaviour. Invest in better facilities for them and give them hope for the future and their behaviour will improve. Not hit them with a stick.....
180169, Christchurch says...
2:21pm Fri 30 Jul 10
bourne free, poole says...
5:13pm Fri 30 Jul 10
madfromdorset, Bournemouth says...
5:31pm Fri 30 Jul 10
BobbyPoole, poole says...
12:07am Sat 31 Jul 10
Was Charlie wrote:..............if you are having problems in your area then ask the Safer Neighbourhood Team for a dispersal order in your area, they don't like to roam too far from home as thats the only place they feel safe as they have spent most of their lives on the estate. they behave like they do for many reasons and more often than not, it IS the parents fault.
“And while Asbos aren’t working, other measures like the dispersal order are.” ... It works for the areas they are disersed from, but they move on to other areas and cause problms there as I know from experience. .... It's not your problem any more - it's ours.
there are a lot of people on the bourne estate who are giving up many hours of their own time for nothing except to try and make this a better place for everyone to live.
come along and help out at the fun day at bourne valley youth clob, northmere rd, on thurs 5th 2pm if you want to try and change things....
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Was Charlie, says...
8:07am Fri 30 Jul 10
...
It works for the areas they are disersed from, but they move on to other areas and cause problms there as I know from experience.
....
It's not your problem any more - it's ours.