Specialist prosecutors will spearhead community fight against anti-social behaviour
22/04/2004
A new team of specialist prosecutors to crack down on anti-social behaviour was launched today by the Home Secretary, Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions.
The prosecutors, stationed across the country, will be responsible to the local community for pursuing anti-social behaviour cases through the courts. Under new laws, they will also be able to apply for ASBOs. They will be local experts in the types of powers available to tackle anti-social behaviour and a central contact point for all local agencies dealing with the problem.
The Home Secretary David Blunkett said:
“Anti-social behaviour is about a minority of people ruining neighbourhoods and destroying people’s quality of life. Communities should not tolerate this, and can fight back to restore local pride for the benefit of the law-abiding majority.
“The specialist prosecutors announced today are a vital part of that fight back. They will lead the response of the criminal justice system, to match the courage and dedication of victims and witnesses with a firm resolve to ensure offenders receive the punishments they deserve.
“Anti-social behaviour can sometimes seem like minor crime. Vandalism, graffiti and harassment may seem trivial on a charge sheet. But behind those charges is often a community living in fear besieged by a reckless and out of control minority of thugs.
“We have made enormous progress in tackling anti-social behaviour. The new Act is being implemented and communities across the country are already using it to shut down drug dens and disperse intimidating groups. Academy events have been held across England and Wales to train frontline workers and improve the response to anti-social behaviour. Today's announcement is an important step as it closes the circle that starts out on the streets and ends in the courts.”
Attorney General Lord Goldsmith QC said:
“It’s time we gave more priority to tackling anti-social behaviour through the courts. These offences may be at the low end of the criminal calendar, but the effect they have on the lives of thousands of law-abiding citizens can be devastating – producing misery, trapping people in their own homes, living with neighbours from hell, running the gauntlet of thugs on the street corners, surrounded by vandalism and public disorder.
“We have now got the tools to tackle anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour prosecutors – “yob-busters” as one newspaper called them – are going to help us do that.
“This is all part of the modern prosecutor's role – protecting the public and the communities which we are to serve.”
Director of Public Prosecutions Ken Macdonald QC said:
“The new powers available to prosecutors under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 will enable The CPS to play a pivotal role in tackling anti-social behaviour. The CPS has led the way by setting up a multi-agency project with representatives from all the key agencies to ensure the new powers are used effectively.
“We have adopted a partnership approach that has resulted in the appointment of 12 specialist prosecutors. Partnership working is critical to the success of these measures at a local level and the 12 specialists will be the pioneers in establishing workable protocols with the police and local authority in their area.
“The anti-social behaviour project is part of a wider programme of reform aimed at improving the service we provide to the public. It builds on the work we are doing to improve the quality of care of victims and witnesses and underpins our wider community engagement strategy.”
See Editor’s Notes
Notes to Editors
- The specialist prosecutors will be based in the following 12 CPS areas:
Manchester, South Yorkshire, Merseyside, West Midlands, London (Borough of Camden), Avon and Somerset, South Wales, Lancashire, West Mercia, Sussex, Kent, and Northumbria. The new posts are being funded by the Home Office for two years, costing £2m. - The Anti-Social Behaviour Act received Royal Assent on November 21 2003 [Home Office press notice 317/2003].
- On October 14 2003, the Government launched the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan and the TOGETHER campaign. These set out what practical help the Government is giving to councils and other local agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour [Home Office press office 278/2003].
- Anti-Social Behaviour Orders or ASBOs were introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and have been available since April 1999. They are civil orders made by a court and used to protect the public from behaviour that causes harassment, alarm and distress, and where criminal proceedings are not appropriate. An ASBO can be the last stage of a structured approach to tackling anti-social behaviour that includes warning letters, mediation or an Acceptable Behaviour Contract.
- From 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2003 1,982 ASBOs were reported to the Home Office in England and Wales.
- Media enquiries to CPS Press Office
