Schedule 2 - CURFEW ORDERS AND SUPERVISION ORDERS
Anti-social Behaviour Bill
11:00 am
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
We want to remove the night restriction requirement that can be attached as part of a supervision order. That provision has become superfluous with the development of curfew orders. We believe that curfew orders are a more effective means of monitoring a young person's behaviour in the community. They provide greater flexibility for the courts, because specific times can be set for the curfew, depending upon the young person's offending behaviour and circumstances. The night restriction operated only between 6 pm and 6 am. A curfew order can be set for any period and last between two and 12 hours a day. That allows the court to set the period of the curfew at times when the young person is more at risk of getting into trouble.
The night restriction requirement is only available for 30 days, whereas the changes that we are proposing on the curfew order will allow it to be available for six months for 10 to 17-year-old offenders. Therefore, the removal of the night restriction requirement will avoid confusion and encourage the courts, we believe, to use curfew orders in combination with other community sentences, such as the supervision order, as a more effective package of measures aimed at preventing further offending. I hope that that explanation is enough to satisfy the hon. Gentleman.