Tough anti-social behaviour powers receive royal assent

The government's drive to tackle anti-social behaviour was boosted today when the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill received royal assent.

Measures contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 give the police and key local agencies new powers to deal with the anti-social behaviour that can blight communities.

The Act supports the Government's national Anti-Social Behaviour action plan launched this autumn.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "The Anti-Social Behaviour Act is a key part of the Government's agenda to tackle the scourge of anti-social behaviour. Together with our national action plan, it will deliver real change to communities by targeting the behaviour of the minority of people who ruin the lives of thousands of law-abiding citizens.

"We are giving local agencies the tools they need to tackle the behaviour of those who cause misery and instil fear in communities. These new powers, boosted by record police numbers, Community Support Officers and Neighbourhood Wardens, send out a strong message that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.

"But now the hard work begins. Communities must demand that local agencies make full use of these powers to reclaim their neighbourhoods for the decent law abiding majority."

Key provisions in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act include:

• Expanding the Fixed Penalty Notices scheme to cover noise nuisance, truancy, graffiti, and apply them to 16-17 year olds
• Enabling schools, local authorities and youth offending teams to offer a package of support and sanctions for parents to help them address anti-social behaviour by their children
• Allowing swift action from the police to close 'crack houses' causing serious nuisance to the community
• Restricting the use of air weapons and replica guns and banning air cartridge weapons that are easily converted to fire live ammunition
• Tackling environmental crime - making it an offence to sell spray paints to under 16s and stronger powers for local authorities to tackle fly-tipping, graffiti and fly-posting
• Extending the powers of environmental health officers to shut down noisy establishments, such as pubs and clubs
• Ensuring courts consider the impact of anti-social behaviour on the wider community in all housing possession cases
• Improving the operation of Anti-social Behaviour Orders
• Enabling the police to disperse groups behaving in an anti-social way

The measures in the Act will come into force in 2004, also mean that local authorities will have the power to intervene in 'high hedge' disputes which neighbours are unable to resolve.

(SP)