Anti-social Behaviour Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 4:15 pm on 3 November 2003.

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Photo of Baroness Linklater of Butterstone Baroness Linklater of Butterstone Liberal Democrat 4:15, 3 November 2003

My Lords, I support the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, on this amendment. We return to the subject, which was discussed in Committee, because we continue to feel that this is not the right way to achieve the desired result of reducing anti-social behaviour. It carries with it the risk of far greater and more damaging negative outcomes than positive ones.

I am perfectly clear that, under the Bill, courts will retain the discretion to impose reporting restrictions where an ASBO has been imposed. But I have yet to hear a convincing argument why the current situation of automatic reporting restrictions under Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 should not still apply, with the court using its discretion on when to lift them.

The Minister said in Committee that that was to remove the anomaly of the difference in reporting restrictions between the magistrates' court and the youth court, and so to bring them in line with each other. Yet, in the companion to the Green Paper Every Child Matters, entitled Youth Justice—The Next Steps, the first sentence of the section entitled "Basic Approach" is:

"When children and young people do become involved in crime we would continue to operate a distinct youth justice system broadly on present lines, with a clear and visible response to offending behaviour from age 10 upwards".

I have always regarded it as axiomatic that the approach to children and offending and the criminal justice system must be clearly differentiated from that relating to adults, from a philosophical, practical and humane point of view. That is what the youth justice system is predicated on. Children are not small adults. Why, therefore, do such principles not apply when it comes to ASBOs?

However, another Home Office document on ASBOs states:

"But the imposition of reporting restrictions may restrict the effectiveness of the order if the effectiveness of the ASBO will largely depend on the wider community knowing the details".

That argument for reporting details immediately risks breaching Article 40 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which asserts the obligation to respect the child's right to privacy,

"at all stages of the proceedings".

Nor is it in the best interests of children and young people as defined in Article 3 of the UNCRC.

The distinction between the approach of the youth courts and that of the magistrates' courts must be retained if justice is truly to be done. The welfare principle under the Children Act must have a place in the application of any sanction, and the potential harm of naming and shaming must also be taken into account.

In Committee, the Minister quoted anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of publicity on reducing the anti-social behaviour of some young people. There is also anecdotal evidence the other way, as we have already heard from the noble Earl, Lord Listowel. In one case, reported in the Observer two weeks ago, alleged vigilante attacks were made on the boys in question. In others, publicity led to young people being stigmatised in the community.

I am sure that the Government could not have envisaged the campaign that the Sun newspaper launched to "Shop a Yob", which has been identifying children all over the country, some as young as 12. That is the antithesis of responsible, local community involvement; it is vigilantism of the press. It is very difficult and dangerous to use publicity in this way because people interpret and react to information in an extremely unpredictable way. When difficult, dysfunctional and often disturbed youngsters are concerned, whose behaviour is indeed unpleasant and intimidating, the risks are magnified. Such children are rarely shamed or humiliated into positive social behaviour. They are not only demonised by the process in the eyes of some, they could equally become anti-heroes in the eyes of others. Neither is desirable, and, clearly, that is not what is intended.

What is really needed is an evaluation and further research into the effectiveness of ASBOs in reducing anti-social behaviour—just as the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, said—and into what effect press reporting has on young people and the community. Only then should consideration be given to the possibility of lifting reporting restrictions on the young people who are given ASBOs. ASBOs do indeed have opportunities attached, both in stopping the behaviour and removing it from a particular place—thus reassuring local people—and identifying particular troublemakers. However, ASBOs must be enforced within the context of a multi-disciplinary approach that also addresses the causes of such behaviour to ensure a positive outcome for both the young person and the community. That is the essential corollary without which the outcome is likely to be negative and the strong arm of the law a purely punitive arm without any balancing support. Only with such support do ASBOs have the chance of achieving the sort of results that we all seek.

I have just received a letter from the Minister in response to my request for more information on the recent government initiatives that form part of the thinking expressed in the Green Paper. It makes impressive reading and I thank her for the letter. The £250 million investment in the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service Network is greatly to be welcomed, as is the proportion of the Children's Fund for crime reduction. I sincerely hope that the YISPs produce the outcomes that are intended and the plans for the Connexions partnerships for vulnerable eight to 19 year-olds.

We have sought to argue this in various parts of this Bill. The opportunities offered in this area will be realised only when connections are routinely made between police intervention and other agencies—social services departments, schools, health and other agencies, including some of the initiatives that I have mentioned—as a requirement. That will require massively more resources than the Minister has mentioned, especially for the statutory agencies. Will she give us some assurance on the matter? Otherwise, I fear that the best intentions of the Government in this area will be lost.