Yobs turn town centres to 'no-go areas'

Town and city centres in England and Wales are becoming no-go areas after dark, because of drunken yobs behaving like "an occupying army", a committee of MPs has warned.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said that anti-social behaviour ranged from "drunken skylarking" and "intimidation to out-and-out criminal activity".

The MPs' report criticised the Home Office, saying that it had failed to research which measures were most effective in tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour.

The Home Office and its Respect Taskforce were questioned by the committee about nearly 900 cases of anti-social behaviour interventions.

The report found that 93% of cases had given up anti-social behaviour following three brushes with the authorities, although a hardcore of persistent offenders continued.

The report also found that a fifth of the individuals were responsible for more than half of the interventions. Among this group, those with the convictions had an average of 50 each.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said that the failure to tackle the problem was caused by Labour's approach to "get the headline and ignore the problem". He said: "They go on about the record number of Asbos given out whilst ignoring the fact that nearly two-thirds are breached."

Liberal Democrat children and families spokesperson Annette Brooke said: "The government has failed to assess the effectiveness of different types of anti-social behaviour interventions. We need greater use of Acceptable Behaviour contracts and most importantly, more supportive measures such as Individual Support Orders.

"In 2004-2005, only 1% of Asbos had an ISO attached. Recent research by the Youth Justice Board found a majority of sentencers were unaware of their existence.

"ASBOs cost up to £10,000 each, and yet 55% of those in receipt of them engage in further anti-social behaviour. They should always be supported by a package of measures to address the perpetrators behaviour. However, other measures such as ABCs must always be taken first."

(KMcA)