ASBOs

Anti-social behaviour orders

Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) are court orders which prohibit the perpetrator from specific anti-social behaviours.

An ASBO can ban an offender from:

• continuing the offending behaviour
• spending time with a particular group of friends
• visiting certain areas

ASBOs are issued for a minimum of two years.

The aim of an ASBO is to protect the public from the behaviour, rather than to punish the perpetrator.

An ASBO is a civil order, not a criminal penalty – this means it won’t appear on an individual's criminal record. However, a breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison.

The community takes charge

An anti-social behaviour order is intended as a community-based intervention as local people are involved in:

• collecting evidence
• helping to enforce breaches of the prohibitions in the order

ASBOs are designed to encourage local communities to become actively involved in reporting crime and anti-social behaviour, helping to build and protect the community.

Who can apply for an anti-social behaviour order to be issued?

Any one of the following agencies can apply for an order:

• Local authorities
• Police Forces and British Transport Police
• Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and Housing Action Trusts (HATs)

See more information on ASBO's on our performance page.

Further Information

You can obtain further information from the following:

ASB Unit, Blyth Valley Housing, Dinsdale House, 75 Marine Terrace, Blyth NE24 2LN.

Telephone: ASB Unit Hotline 01670 542060

RNIB Typetalk service prefix number 18001

EMail: Anti-Social Behaviour Unit