Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Aim

"To prevent crime and disorder; to create certain racially-aggravated offences; to abolish the rebuttable presumption that a child is incapable of crime and to make provision as to the effect of a child's failure to give evidence at his trial; to abolish the death penalty for treason and piracy; to make changes to the criminal justice system; to make further provision for dealing with offenders; to make further provision with respect to remands and committals for trial and the release and recall of prisoners."

Main provisions

Abolishes the presumption of "doli incapax", the rule that a child aged 10 to 13 is presumed to be unable to form the necessary criminal intent.
Creates the anti-social behaviour order, designed to prohibit individuals from indulging in specific activities that are deemed to be anti-social.
Specifies that the only criteria a magistrate must use in deciding to impose an asbo is that the individual has behaved in a manner "that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress".
Creates two new schemes for dealing with youth crime: child safety orders, which apply to children under the age of 10, and parenting orders, which are made against the parents of a child who has been given an anti-social behaviour order.
Creates sex offender orders, which bar offenders from activities and areas frequented by children.
Abolishes the death penalty for treason or piracy.
Introduces separate offences for crimes that were aggravated by the victim's race or presumed race.
Obliges local authorities, the police and other local bodies to draw up a crime and disorder strategy covering their area.
Creates a statutory duty on those working in the youth justice system to observe a principal aim of preventing offending by children and young people.

Background

During the 1997 election campaign, Tony Blair made a firm commitment to introduce a crime and disorder bill targeting crime and anti-social behaviour within his first year in office. Crime was a key election issue, and both major parties competed to prove they were tougher on crime.

Labour's manifesto promised fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders and community safety orders (these were later called anti-social behaviour orders) to deal with "threatening and disruptive criminal neighbours".

Echoing his famous "tough on crime" pledge, Tony Blair told voters that Labour would take a "zero tolerance" approach to crime, promising more convictions and a drop in violent crime.

When he announced the bill, home secretary Jack Straw said he wanted new laws to help build safer communities. His aim was to target persistent troublemakers and to allow their law-abiding neighbours freedom from fear and harassment.

The bill's key plank was its wholesale reform of the youth justice system. It formed the basis for a new youth justice framework document that legally enshrined preventing offending by children and young people as the principle aim of the youth justice system. The government also introduced a new range of penalties aimed at young offenders and associated orders aimed at their parents.

The bill's emphasis on parental responsibility caused embarrassment for the government when Straw's 17-year-old son was cautioned for supplying cannabis in January 1998. The home secretary made light of the affair, admitting some of his cabinet colleagues had joked he was a prime candidate for a "parenting order".

Criticism

Civil liberties groups argue that asbos mark an unacceptable blurring of criminal and civil law because while they are issued on a civil burden of proof (the "balance of probabilities"), a breach can incur criminal penalties including up to five years' imprisonment.

Children's rights campaigners argue that asbos are disproportionately used to target young people. They point out that although many forms of anti-social behaviour can be alarming or distressing, they are often not criminal. Even though the original action may not be criminal, for example playing loud music, breaching an asbo can lead to a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Liberty has consistently expressed concern about the use of asbos, in particular their use against children and vulnerable people who need help and support.

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