National Audit office consider cost / effectivness of Anti-social behaviour interventions

The National Audit Office under the exemplary poublic servant Sir John Bourne has turned it's hard nosed attention to ASBO's and their role in "Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour".

Their report published today examines the work of the Home Office’s Anti-Social Behaviour Unit set up in 2003 (cost £25 Mn per annum) and measures introduced by the Home Office since 1997 to enable the police, local authorities and others ( at an astonishing total cost of £3.4 Bn per annum) to tackle anti-social behaviour and considers the progress made.

They reviewed 893 cases, interviewed 12 local co-ordinators (there are 373) , held 12 costing seminars, had 6 public focus group meeting, interviewed 20 ASBO'd people, and sought help and advice and reviewed literature... a thorough and comprehensive, independent analysis.

They conclude that overall the majority of their sample who received an anti-social behaviour intervention did not re-engage in antisocial behaviour, but there was, a hard core of perpetrators for whom interventions had limited impact - 20 % of their sample received 55 % of all interventions issued in the period covered by the files in our review.

65 % of the people in our sample who received an Acceptable Behaviour Contract did not re-engage in anti-social behaviour although this fell off with under 18 year old offenders.

Warning letters are a very low cost and effective method of intervention costing approximately £66 compared to £230 for an Acceptable Behaviour Contract and £3,100 for an Anti-Social Behaviour Order and 63% of the sample who received a warning letter desisted from anti-social behaviour - which were generally for low - level offences.

A quarter of the sample had received an ASBO of whom 40 % had received an earlier intervention and 80 % had criminal convictions. Half the sample cases breached their ASBO, with a third of this group doing so on five or more occasions - also reflected in Police National Computer records.

It is evident from their recommendations that the records of effectiveness and outcomes of issuing interventions is dismal, training of people who can issue them not adequate and that efforts should be made to build up an evidence base on the cost and effectiveness of different interventions

Meanwhile in Burnley,David Grimes, 27, (seee pic) of Penistone Street, Burnley, the first person in the country to be given an ASBO for domestic violence has been jailed. The Burnley Crown Court court was told yesterday that Grimes, received his ASBO on November 10th (after he he lunged at a neighbour of his mother , Kate Lambert with a large kitchen knife) which incorporated a nine-month jail term, suspended for two years, a three-year curfew from 7pm-7am, two years' supervision and the addressing substance- related offending programme plus he was banned from Whitegate Close, Padiham, where Ms Lambert lives, and from entering any premises on the close. He was also not allowed to be drunk in a public place and must not associate with Sandra and Robert Heyhurst.

The Court was also told that Grimes had been a criminal for more than 11 years, and had beaten up his girlfriends for years - The Police had arrested him 66 times over the last 5 years for a catalogue of offences including violence against women. He was jailed for nine months.

His mother Linda Grimes has defended her son, insisting he has been let down by the state.