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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

TV/Radio programme on policy making

Estelle Morris (now in the House of Lords) and I have been talking about a series of programmes about policy making in government. What I had in mind when I put it to her was a programme(s) looking at how and why certain policies came about. 

ASBO's and School league tables would be useful examples. We could show the origin of these policies and  how the various interest groups, the Labour Party and other political party's influenced and changed them while they were going through the legislative process.

We are both aware that issues like this are of considerable interest to the general public even those who are turned off politics. I am not sure if we can make it work for a programme other then Radio Four or similar outlet and I have been asking for advice on this from broadcasters.

Any views on this? Would it be something that would interest you?

I'd be interested, particularly in what steps legislators take to make sure that nrew laws work as intended. To give a topical example, cheating in coursework on GCSEs.

When GCSEs came in they introduced a large element of coursework which wasn't present in the O levels they replaced. It should have been evident from the start that cheating would happen because (1) it isn't possible to check who has actually done the work if it isn't in a strictly controlled environment, (2) students (and their parents) have an incentive to cheat, because these exames are important for their future careers, (3) teachers also have an incentive to help students cheat (or at least to turn a blind eye to it), because the schools they work for are partly judged by league tables of exam results.

So, everyone has an incentive to cheat, and cheating is easy. So unsurprisingly lots of cheating takes place; something that teachers will confirm in private.

When the format of GCSEs was decided, did no-one think of this? Did it not occur to them that humans will always try to game the system if they think there's an advantage for them in doing so?

This is just one example but there are of course others where legislation has have unforseen consequences. Why is this? I don't think it is because MPs are stupid -- most come across as being reasonably bright.

Further to my last comment, I suspect that there is something about the way decisions are made in governments and other large organisations that tends to cause bad decisions to be made. I'm sure anyone who's every worked for large organisations could give examples.

There's a saying that the IQ of a committee if the same as the average IQ of its members divided by the number of members. That this saying exists is anecdotal evidence that I may be onto something (as is the popularity of Dilbert).

If it's actually an honest and rigorous programme, it could be very interesting. If it's the usual combination of platitudes and claptrap that ministers and others spout to try to justify their policies (this is not just aimed at the current government - all the parties are guilty of it).

You'll have to be careful to avoid partisan biases (conscious or unconscious) if you want to make a successful programme. That's probably quite challenging to do.

Dear Clive

I would be very interested to hear about the genesis of ASBOs. As a former Probation Officer, I expect you will be aware of NAPOs concerns about ASBOs. I think the policy needs review. Read for yourself NAPOs case studies on ASBOs and then tell me if you think they are working as intended

kind regards
Peter

D) CASE STUDIES

Napo has collected a number of case studies over the last 12 months which illustrate the difficulties:-

1. In 2004 an application was made in Manchester for an ASBO on a female prostitute. It was alleged she was causing a nuisance in Manchester by accosting men and generally causing offence. The Magistrates agreed to an ASBO. One of its conditions was that she was prohibited from carrying condoms within the given area. Unfortunately her drug clinic was within the restricted area and one of the services it provided was the provision of free condoms as part of its harm-reduction strategy. She breached the order, was put on probation and faces the possibility of prison.

2. In 2004 an 18-year-old youth was made the subject of an ASBO in the same city with a condition not to congregate with three or more other youths. He was subsequently arrested for breach of his order when he was entering a local youth club on the grounds that there were more than three youths in the premises. This was a successful club with a good reputation providing a valuable service to young people locally, and on the particular evening the session scheduled for the youths was how to deal with anti-social behaviour.

3. Again in 2004, in Manchester, the Council used its powers to obtain an ASBO to stop mobile soup vans operating in the city centre. These vans provide food and assistance regularly each evening to about 100 homeless people. The Council however argued that after the vans had left there was a mess all over the place and people had complained. Probation staff argued that the same could be said about every kebab shop, pub, chip shop and off-licence in the city.

4. A probation officer visited a 20-year-old, long term, prisoner in the North East to finalise his release plan. He expressed the wish to return to his grandmother’s flat two weeks hence. He had been her registered carer since he was about 12 years old. She wasn’t well and needed assistance. However, the day before his release the Council obtained an ASBO on him which included a condition that he was banned from entering the estate where his grandmother lived because of previous activities in the area.

5. A drug addict faced jail if he was caught sleeping in the street or begging in ‘an earnest or humble way’. Greater Manchester police obtained an ASBO against Peter Broadbent aged 36 after he pleaded guilty to rough sleeping under the Napoleonic Begging Laws. He was found under the Mancunian Way surrounded by needles and now faces up to five years jail if he breaches. During the year, another homeless man, Leonard Hockey, who begged in a non-aggressive way in Kendal’s car park was ASBOed. He was later breached and jailed and died before finishing his sentence. Broadbent’s ASBO prevents him from sleeping rough contrary to Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 and asking “earnestly or humbly” for money in a place to which the public have access. He was also banned from selling the Big Issue without a license.
6. In 2004, a youth appeared in Court in Manchester for breach of his ASBO. The Order had been made in the youth’s absence without his being able to give his side of the story (one of the main concerns about ASBOs and one that can lead to misuse). The day after the Order was made someone came to his house to ‘serve’ it on him. This consisted of his being handed a copy of what was a fairly bulky document running to several dozen pages with no attempt to explain it or even to ascertain if he was literate enough to read it. The Order included an restriction preventing him entering a particular estate nearby and another preventing him from associating with certain others. Unfortunately, he went out before reading the Order and beached it twice that day. The next day he went out again and breached it three times by mistake as he had not read the part covering the particular restriction. He now faces possibly custody although he has never been convicted of a criminal offence.

7. A 40-year-old woman made over seven hundred 999 calls from various phone booths in her town over a four to five month period. The police applied for and obtained an ASBO banning her from the booths and from making 999 calls. She made a further 999 call within days of the ASBO being made and was subsequently given two weeks imprisonment.

8. A 26-year-old homeless beggar from Birmingham was banned from begging in various car parks in Birmingham. He breached almost immediately and was, according to his solicitor, given 24 months custody. He was discharged earlier this year having served about eight months and was breached again for returning to begging and on this occasion got three years’ jail. His solicitor, therefore, says he received a total of five years’ imprisonment for an offence that itself is non imprisionable.

9. A 50-year-old man with numerous convictions for shoplifting, clearly ill and a kleptomaniac, was banned from going into certain shops. If he entered other shops the condition of the ASBO was he told the shopkeepers of his conviction and the condition.

10. A teenage boy in the Oldham area has been banned from displaying the name of a gang anywhere on his body. The ASBO was issued to Damien White which banned him from the district of Sholber. The order prevents him from displaying a gang name ‘Mayhem’ on any part of his body or publicly displaying any mark or words to identify himself with any gang or group of youths causing a criminal act or anti social behaviour.

11. A 13-year-old was served an order banning him from using the word ‘grass’ anywhere in England and Wales. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

12. In May 2004, a 16-year-old boy was banned from behaving in an anti-social manner at school. The five year order covers the whole of England and Wales and came as a response to his disruption of a science class (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch).

13. A16-year-old boy was banned from showing his tattoos, wearing a single golf glove, or wearing a balaclava in public anywhere in the country. He was also forbidden from congregating in public places in groups of more than three people. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch).

14. A 19-year-old convicted of graffiti damage to a tube depot was served an order banning him from carrying any graffiti related materials for a period of five years. He was also banned, over this time, from associating with any of those he committed the original offence with. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

15. In September 2004, on the same day as he was released from prison, a 21-year-old found himself back in court being served with an interim order which banned him from entering any car park in England and Wales, touching any car without the owners permission, and riding a bicycle. On the full application hearing, the Council also managed to have him banned from wearing all forms of headwear in public. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

16. In October 2004, a profoundly deaf girl was served an order for spitting in public. Having broken it she is currently in prison on remand. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

17. Thought to be the oldest recipient of an order, a 87-year-old was among other things been forbidden from being sarcastic to his neighbours. He was found guilty of breaking the terms of his order on three separate occasions. On sentencing, the judge made it clear that ‘there would be no prison for an 88 year old man’. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

18. In July 2004, a 15-year-old from Surrey received an order banning him from drawing graffiti anywhere in England and Wales or to be in a public place with spray paint, marker pens, etching materials or any other articles related to the practice of graffiti. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

19. In August 2004, a 57-year-old homeless alcoholic was banned from carrying or consuming alcohol in a public place and entering licensed premises. Unsurprisingly he breached the order within two weeks. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

20. Again in August 2004, a 47-year-old was banned from buying or consuming alcohol anywhere in England and Wales. Having breached it he was sentenced to 8 months in prison but walked free because of the time spent on remand. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

21. In July 2004, a 51-year-old was served with an order, and has since breached, banning him from consuming or being under the influence of alcohol in any public place on Merseyside and using abusive or insulting language. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

22. In October 2004, two brothers aged 10 and 11 were banned from, among other things, congregating in a group of more than two people, riding as a driver or passenger on a motorcycle, setting foot on any school premises unless attending a lesson and entering any domestic or commercial property without consent of the owner. (source – Statewatch ASBOwatch)

23. In December 2004, Brian Hagan from Norfolk became the first farmer to be the subject of an ASBO when he was ordered to keep his swine and geese under control after people living near to his farm complained of damage. The order was made on Monday of the week beginning 13 December, but on Tuesday he was charged with allegedly breaching the order after reports that his pigs had escaped again. A breach of the order could lead to up to five years in jail.

24. In November 2004, a 38-year-old man was served an ASBO for ‘intimidating and harassing drivers and causing distress’ by clamping cars parked on land where he had no licence to operate.

25. In late 2004 a family accused of damaging property, driving recklessly, threatening neighbours and using abusive language were banned from going out together. The mother, father and 3 sons – aged 16 to 20 – can only leave their home in pairs and are also banned from meeting more than one friend at a time.

26. In Atwick, Yorkshire, a 17-year-old has been banned from causing damage to flowers and plants pots when entering gardens without the owners permission and from throwing mud at windows.

27. In Warwickshire, a 15-year-old boy has been banned from swearing and using violence, or threats of violence against people ‘not of his household’.

28. In County Durham, a football mad 15-year-old has been given an ASBO banning him from playing football in the street after having had 12 footballs confiscated from in barely two weeks. He was using bus stops as goal posts, disrupting traffic and playing without regard for other people using the street.

29. A 26-year-old West Lothian man has been made the subject of an ASBO after playing the Band Aid single “Do they know it’s Christmas” dozens of times daily to the annoyance of neighbours. He has been banned from ‘playing loud music, stamping his feet and dropping objects.’ (source –BBC News)

30. A 28-year-old man was served with an ASBO banning him from shouting, swearing, banging windows, moaning and dumping rubbish after he alarmed neighbours by standing on his windowsill and pretending to dance with a Christmas tree while moaning loudly. The behaviour was apparently influenced by having watched the film American Werewolf in London. The howls continued and he was duly jailed for two months in August this year. He has since been jailed for another four months and will be spending Christmas in prison. (source –BBC News)

31. The endless blazing rows of a couple in Blackburn led to their being made the subject of an ASBO barring them from contacting each other. The 47-year-old man was additionally ordered not to go within 50m of his fiancée’s home. He argued this was completely over the top and Blackburn magistrates eventually backed down and overturned the order. (source –BBC News)

32. A West Midlands woman was the subject of an ASBO banning her from using a pay as you go mobile, using a mobile phone that is not in her name, or using a mobile to make nuisance calls for five years after she tried to convince the parents of a former school friend that their daughter had been kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Police said an investigation into the kidnapping allegations had used 640 hours of police time before the young woman was tracked down. (source –BBC News)

33. A 43-year-old Port Talbot woman was also made the subject of an ASBO after making 765 nuisance calls to the emergency services in less than a year. On one occasion she complained she was having difficulty tuning in her television. She received an interim ban stopping her from calling the emergency services unless there really is a crisis. (source –BBC News)

34. A 17-year-old Birmingham youth as been banned from travelling on the top deck of buses. The conditions of his ASBO are that he cannot travel on a bus unless he sits where the driver and other passengers can see him. (source –BBC News)

35. A 17-year-old from Oldham has been banned from using the word ‘grass’ as a term of abuse against people who ‘stood up to him’ and from other abusive language and throwing missiles. (source –BBC News)

36. In Harrogate, police wanted to ban persistent criminals from entering the town. They asked magistrates to consider an ASBO preventing known offenders for crimes like burglary from setting foot in the town. (source –BBC News)

37. In Manchester, a football fan whose 11-hour kick-abouts caused damage to cars, gardens and houses has been banned from playing ball games in the street outside his home.

38. A 10-year-old in Bath, who caused £80,000 of arson damage is banned from having matches until he turns 16.

39. A 40-year-old woman from London made over seven hundred 999 calls from various phone booths in her town over a four to five month period. The police applied for and obtained an ASBO banning her from the booths and from making 999 calls. She made a further 999 call within days of the ASBO being made and was subsequently given two weeks imprisonment in Holloway.

40. An Eninem and Dido fan, who incessantly played the musicians’ songs at top volume was banned recently from owning a stereo, radio or TV. It is the first order of its kind.

41. In the Midlands, a middle-aged couple, were served an ASBO banning them from playing gansta rap or swearing in front of children, after upsetting staff and parents at a nursery near their worksop home.

42. In Wirral, a man was banned from assaulting and verbally abusing bin men after they were so intimidated by his behaviour they stopped collecting rubbish from his street.

43. In 2005 a 47-year-old man with a fetish for medical supplies has been banned from all NHS buildings or private medical practices in the country after he tried to get hold of a surgical mask on 47 occasions in the last 5 months. He would tell staff he needed the masks for amateur dramatics or charity fun runs. He has also been jailed for 3 years and will have to abide by the terms of the ASBO when his sentence ends.

44. Two elderly men in Birmingham living in sheltered accommodation were served ASBOs after police were called to their flats amid complaints that they were being used by drug taking prostitutes. The men claimed they had simply made friends with the call girls. They are banned from any further contact with the women.

45. A 40-year-old man in Manchester, who offered to build extensions at a fixed price and then simply took homeowners’ money without doing the work, has been jailed for three and a half years and also received an ASBO banning him from advertising his services, or working in the building industry – unless it is for a bona fide construction company.

46. In Manchester, two brothers aged 11 and 12 were banned from wearing balaclavas.

47. In Oldham a 19-year-old has been banned from having the name of his gang shaved into his head.

48. In London, a 30-year-old man has been banned from using doorbells or phoning households without permission. He had stolen from 250 elderly people after entering their homes under false pretences.

49. A 17-year-old has received an ASBO banning him from leaving or entering his home except by a back alley after he harassed neighbours and shouted obscenities.

50. A 13-year-old boy has been sentenced to 4 months youth custody after being convicted of drink driving. He had received an ASBO and been banned from driving twice before. Noting that none of these measures had seemed to work magistrates in Salford decided custody was the way forward.

51. In 2005, a 30-year-old woman was served with an ASBO the conditions of which were that she was not to be heard shouting from inside her house and she was not to play music that could be heard from outside the house. She was breached for arguing with her heroine addict son over money. She could be heard from the front path to her house by the police. She failed to appear for the breach hearing and was subsequently jailed.

52. A 50-year-old man in Manchester has recently been banned from claiming anyone is ‘involved in suspicious activity and drug dealing’. Magistrates were told he bombarded the police with false accusations of drug dealing among his neighbours.

53. A 38-year-old father-of-five recently escaped an ASBO banning him from his home, following noisy rows with his new wife, but he was banned from getting into anymore noisy rows with her. There will be a full hearing in July 2005, but in the meantime he must not use bad language or behave threateningly.

54. A 55-year-old man in Portsmouth has been given an ASBO against parking his car in a disabled parking space. It wasn’t his space and when its 86-year-old intended user asked him to move his vehicle he reportedly called her ‘village pond life’. He is thought to be the first person in the UK to be specifically banned from parking in a disabled space.

55. In March 2005 a woman was banned from 70 stores in Dundee for 2 years. A photograph of Nicola Walker, a serial shoplifter, has been circulated to the shops and she will face imprisonment if she spotted in any of the stores.

56. A 21-year-old prolific car thief has been banned from wearing a woolly hat, baseball cap or hooded top, by Teeside Magistrates so that he can been identified on CCTV by operators and police. He has also been banned from entering car parks.

57. In February 2005, a 23-year-old woman who has repeatedly tried to kill herself was issued with an ASBO banning her from going near railway lines, rivers, bridges and multi-storey car parks by Magistrates in Bath. The woman had been rescued from the River Avon three times and had been found ‘hanging by her fingertips’ from a railway bridge and was repeatedly spotted loitering at the top of multi storey car parks. She will face a jail sentence if she breaches the 2 year order.

58. In March 2005, A young Scottish woman received an ASBO banning her from answering the front door in her underwear. She also faces the threat of jail if she is seen in her garden or windows in just knickers and a bra. The 27-year-old woman in East Kilbride was granted legal aid to fight the interim order which, she says, was the result of a witch-hunt that began when her neighbours were given ASBO diaries to record what she was up to. The mother of two suggested fellow residents got upset when she wore an Ann Summers bikini to do the gardening one hot summers day.

59. In March 2005, a fuel sniffer was jailed for breaching an antisocial behaviour order that banned him from petrol station forecourts in North East England. Brian Taylor, aged 36, received the ASBO in February after he was caught on CCTV slashing a fuel line at an Asda petrol station in Middlesbrough, inhaling the fumes and dancing round the forecourt. The order, supposed to help him overcome his addiction, banned him from all Asda stations and prevented him from going near any others in Middlesbrough, Redcar or Cleveland. However, he was caught on camera a second time at the same forecourt and was jailed for 3 months. His ASBO remains in place until January 2009.

60. On 17th March 2005, a 50-year-old woman was served with an ASBO by Magistrates in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, after she threw 3 sticks of rhubarb at her elderly brother, catching him in the eye, and leaving him with double vision. The six year ASBO bans her from entering property belonging to her son with whom she had also fallen out. Magistrates heard that the ill feeling, which was worsened by the woman’s ‘paranoid personality’ dated back to her father’s death and to what she believed to have been an inequitable settlement of the will.

61. In March 2005, a 20-year-old man in Devon was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment following 3 breaches of an ASBO. He was a prolific shoplifter who was on a young offender licence. He was given a 3 year ASBO last year, with a condition which prohibited him from entering all shops, stores and retail outlets in Devon and Cornwall. The probation officer involved in the case did not think an ASBO was appropriate and believed that the conditions were effectively telling him to leave the area. Following the breach, he refused to cooperate with a court report interview and was jailed.

62. A 20-year-old man in Plymouth was sentenced to a 3 year ASBO whilst on parole. The Order contained a condition that he was not to assault, threaten, harass, pester, or use threatening behaviour against any individual who worked, resided in or was visiting Plymouth. He was also ordered not to carry out any criminal acts in Plymouth. He was breached in April 2004 and given a community order and was breached again in March 2005 and given 12 months custody.

63. A 22-year-old man was given a 2 year ASBO at Plymouth Crown Court in March 2005. The Order included a condition not to enter pubs, clubs or any other establishment with an alcohol licence or to posses alcohol in the South Hams area. His probation officer wrote a court report following a psychiatric assessment and proposed a community order with a condition that he undertake substance abuse treatment and anger management. An ASBO was not considered appropriate but was nevertheless imposed. Ironically, the offence was heard in a court outside the area where he lived and therefore was of limited value in any event.

64. A man in his early 20s, who has a chronic drug problem, and who steals in order to buy drugs, was made the subject of an ASBO in March 2005. In all, 6 conditions were imposed, including:

· that he was not to engage, or incite to engage, in any behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person residing, working or living in Plymouth;
· exclusion from the city centre and named streets except when travelling on a bus;
· not to enter any shop in Plymouth which is a member of “Plymouth Against Retail Crime” (PARC)
· not to be in possession of any drugs paraphernalia;
· not to physically strike, hit, kick, punch, or assault any person;
· not to be in a drunken or intoxicated condition in any part of Plymouth at any time.

His probation officer pointed out that these conditions were criminal offences anyway, that a lower level of proof would be needed to obtain a breach and therefore a conviction, and that criminal proceedings were thereby avoided.

Autistic Disorders

65. A 15-year-old boy with Asperger Syndrome and no criminal convictions whatsoever was ASBOed last month in a court in the South West with a condition that he was not to look over and stare into his neighbours’ garden. Apparent the neighbours went to the police because the behaviour was persistent, the police then applied for an ASBO and the ASBO was granted. He is now prohibited from staring over his neighbours’ fence. The court was aware of the condition. He was not known to the Youth Offending Team because of the absence of offences, so they were not in court. Asperger Syndrome is a form of autism that affects the way that an individual can communicate. Among some of the traits are: difficulty in communicating; difficulty in social relationships; lack of imagination and creative play. People with Asperger Syndrome love routines and often find change upsetting.

66. The British Institute for Brain Injured Children (BIBIC) are aware of a number of other cases where ASBOs have been made. Two orders have been made in the last few months on individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). On both occasions, the boys who were 15-years-old, were disruptive and shouted and swore. Again courts were made aware of the condition but the ASBOs were still made.

67. In a further case, a 15-year-old with Tourettes Syndrome was ASBOed with a condition that he does not swear in public. In a recent case in the Midlands, an ASBO was applied for against a 12-year-old child who had been swearing at neighbours. This child also has Asperger Syndrome. The 2 sets of neighbours including the girl’s parents had been arguing. The girl had observed the behaviour and had shouted at the neighbours. The police were involved and an ASBO was applied for. It was only because the local support group for autistic disorders turned up in court that the ASBO was averted.

68. Magistrates at Tonypandy in South Wales recently heard the case of 30-year-old man who was a well-known local militant fathers’ group, Fathers 4 Justice, activist, and who was charged with various low level crimes involving criminal damage and related misdemeanours. The Magistrates decided to put aside the criminal proceedings and offered an ASBO with a condition that the defendant no longer associated, or took part, in any Fathers 4 Justice activities. (Ironically, the previous month, Napo had supported police forces in Wales who were on record as applying for the fewest ASBOs preferring instead to use the criminal law.)

69. A woman who plagued a town in the North East with her alleged drunken and abusive behaviour has also been made the subject of an ASBO. She has been banned from being drunk and disorderly in a public place, consuming alcohol in any public place, remaining on the premises of a pub when asked to leave or entering those from which she has been barred, and from trespassing on private property. If this was not enough, she has also been banned from entering any National Probation Service office whilst in an intoxicated state and banned from assaulting, harassing, intimidating or abusing any member of Probation staff. These restrictions will be in force until 2008.

70. A one legged beggar on crutches with learning diffculties was given an ASBO not to beg and was prohibited from exposing his wounded leg for the purposes of begging. He breached the order by begging and but for a technical fault in the order, which was not geographically specific, he would more than likely be in prison.

71. A 16 year old juvenile faced allegation of threatening behaviour against police officers who produced an application for an ASBO prior to his trial at Balham Youth Court. An officer from the same police station came to the same court on different proceedings to argue for bail variations to allow the defendant to take part in a comprehensive support programme organised by a number of youth offending agencies trying to address offending behaviour. The ASBO would have undermined the work of these agencies and was obviously sought without their involvement. This case shows the lack of any communication even between officers from the same police station on whether ASBOs are necessary.

Latest cases June 2005

72. A 16-year-old boy was ASBOed in Gloucester and given over 20 conditions. The order is to last for 8 years. The prohibitions are to include: not swearing in public; not drinking or taking drugs in public; not entering premises or engaging in any forms of anti social behaviour. The Council published 800 leaflets with his photo and the conditions and distributed them round certain areas of Gloucester.

73. A 17-year-old also from Gloucestershire was placed, in June, on a 7 year ASBO with numerous conditions. His previous convictions only included a police reprimand. The Council printed hundreds of leaflets with his photo included and the conditions and distributed them round local estates.

74. Two brothers from South Wales, aged 10 and 11 years, were given anti social behaviour orders with the condition that they did not “terrorise their local council estate”. Both are attending Special Schools. They had been involved in numerous incidents over the previous year. This had included throwing eggs at workmen, throwing bottles at safety wardens, and using an air pistol. The five year orders prevent them from swearing, making rude gestures, threatening violence and throwing missiles. They have also been given a curfew and must not mix with older members of a boy gang.

75. A 14-year-old from Lincolnshire who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is a neurological impairment condition, was given a 2 year ASBO last month with multiple conditions. A package of support put together by a police officer from the Youth Justice Team, which would have been expensive but which would have dealt with the underlying problems, was declined by the Courts.

76. A 14-year-old from mid-Sussex was given a 2 year ASBO. He too has ADHD, a neurological impairment. As a condition he is banned from using any abusive language or entering or damaging any property in the area. He is banned from driving or drinking in any public place.

77. A 14-year-old from Brighton with Asperger Syndrome and ADHD was given a 2 year ASBO. The defending solicitor asked if it was appropriate for a young person with autism to get an ASBO. He said, “he is clearly a troubled boy who has not reacted well to interventions from the Court despite the best efforts of his mother”. He is prohibited from driving any vehicle although he can use the bus or train. He is not to carry any instrument that could be construed as a burglary tool. He is curfewed from 10.00pm to 6.00am and is banned from associating with named older boys.

78. A 16-year-old from the Midlands was ASBOed for 2 years. He has Asperger Syndrome. His solicitor said in defence “This is not the way to deal with someone with a neurological disorder. It is inhuman, he needs treatment”.

79. Thirteen-year-old triplets from Kent, who had all been born prematurely, and suffer from severe developmental delay, were given a two year ASBO. All three have ADHD, two have epilepsy, and one has a speech impediment. The ASBOs contained restrictive conditions and they were quickly breached. All three of them have now been placed on two year supervision orders. The prosecution solicitor noted that there was a lot of Government interest in the case. The Chair of the Bench made the comment that their behaviour was bad but that their education had been inadequate.

80. A 20-year-old was recently ASBOed in Lancashire. He suffers from autism, ADHD and Tourettes Syndrome. The ASBO had multiple conditions including a ban on swearing and threatening behaviour. The ASBO has now been breached and he now faces the threat of custody.

81. An 11-year-old with ADHD was recently given an ASBO in Blackpool and was banned from certain named streets in the area. He was also banned from being a nuisance in school or local libraries. He was accused of stealing a cigarette from a local youth. He is banned from being involved in any form of anti social behaviour or inciting others to do so, and is also not allowed to associate with a named 15-year-old.

82. A 16-year-old from Sheffield with ADHD was ASBOed for two years after accumulating 22 offences mainly for driving and fighting. He had been receiving medical treatment for 11 months, but the Court felt it had made no impact on his anti social behaviour. The order it was said was made to protect the victims and residents.

E) CONCLUSION

The number of anti social behaviour orders has escalated markedly since November 2003. There is ample evidence of the issuing of ASBOs by the courts being inconsistent and almost a geographical lottery. There is great concern that people are being jailed following the breach of an ASBO where the original offence was itself non-imprisonable, and that ASBOs are being used where people have mental health problems or autistic disorders, where treatment or understanding would be more appropriate.

There is also evidence that conditions on ASBOs are unreasonable and the behaviour would constitute criminal offences in any event. It is of concern that the lower level of proof needed to obtain a conviction circumvents criminal proceedings. Certain local authorities are using ASBOs to clear sink estates of problematic families and individuals. This appears to avoid dealing with wider environmental problems on those estates and also avoids putting in place wider social policies that would deal with the underlying problems of anti social behaviour. In Napo’s view the time is right for a fundamental review of the use and appropriateness of Anti Social Behaviour Orders by the Home Office.

Harry Fletcher – 15 June 2005

Clive, you have such great communication skills, you belong in broadcasting. If you hosted such a programme not aired on tv, I would buy a radio and tune in. Lord of the Blog ought to expand into audio and visual. This site would be a good vehicle for feedback and further discussion on issues aired. Watch out mainstream media and Question Time ... here comes Lord of the Blog! Good luck.

I don't think anyone would be interested in such a programme if it simply sought to justify the government's agenda. An objective look at the lobbying process, its successes and flaws, would be more interesting. I would particularly like to know what the Big Conversation was all about and what it achieved and failed to achieve in influencing policy-making.

Clive,

How about an insider's guide to the intricate and high-brow policy making processes behind invading countries on false pretenses and materially supporting (then helping to cover up) the massacre of civilian populations using chemical weapons in towns who's names you can't pronounce full of people you forget about as soon as you've finished assisting in their murder.

You, like your friend Tony still have a basic problem. You think that the reason the country isn't against you is because we don't understand what you do or how you do it. We clearly understand the issues better than you do and see your actions far more transparently than you seem to realise. This is why we're against you. No amount of PR on TV or Radio will change that.

S.

Whatever the programme is or its format, it will certainly not focus on the refusal and utter denial that those in the political pay of this government to countenance opposing voices which expose the falsehood behind the doublespeak of transparency of governance and meritocracy.

Clive you are a player in the game and certainly not objective, which is the tone I hear in your loftiness since you went to the other place.

When one looks at how policy is formed and consulted an example of how this present government pushes through policy issues to the detriment of true debate and listening is exampled by Austin Mitchell's posting on his site about how he has been asked to push the issue with his constituents.

Selling Educashun

Articles / Austin's Opinions
Posted by Austin Mitchell on Nov 25, 2005 - 01:35 PM
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No wonder the Whips objected so strongly to my letter to Grimsby Heads. The "Tool Kit" for Labour MPs shows what I should have done to sell the Educashun White Paper.

We should call meetings in the school with Head, Governors, and parents and tell them that the reforms will:
Put parents at the heart of running schools
Tailor tuition to the needs of each individual child
Reform schools to give them the freedom and flexibility they need
Give teachers a positive right to discipline
Give local authorities a strong new role.
Who could possibly object to any of that? Motherhood and apple pie had to be omitted because we're talking about kids under 19 threatened by an obesity epidemic.

It then goes on; In > you know the hard work everyone puts in to improve results by > and transform the >.

Great stuff. Followed by simple instructions "Prepare the room in good time". Then a series of talking points, "How can we tailor schooling to give every child the best education?" (short of sending them to Eton) and "What can we do to give parents more say in your child's education" or "How can we deal with failing schools?" (short of nuclear weapons).

Then, finally, Triumph. The follow-up Press Release: "Parents give schools plan the thumbs up". MP rushes back to Westminster to give Ruth Kelly the good news. "I have no doubt that they will get their message will be heard (sic) in Westminster loud and clear". There's even a quote provided to prove it: "> a parent at the event said "The government's plans are really ambitious. I'm pleased they want to give parents control ... but I was even more pleased the > MP and the head bothered to take time out to listen to my views". Democracy Works!

Clive could you investigate this when you do your programme?

Sorry I should have included Austin's web address

http://www.austinmitchell.org/index.php

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