Ever hear of ASBOs? It's an acronym for
Anti-Social Behavior Orders, which are a uniquely British form of behavior modification, begun by Bush sycophant Tony Blair in 1998:
...an ASBO is a civil order that allows a judge to bar a particular individual from engaging in otherwise lawful behavior. Local authorities can slap an order on anyone over age 10 who has behaved antisociallydefined by law as activity that "causes or is likely to have caused harassment or alarm or distress."
In other words, don't behave in the manner that all of my UK heroes - John Lydon, Joe Strummer, Pete Shelley, Shane MacGowan - have behaved. Don't make people nervous. Keep your head down and don't make waves. The subtle fascism of legislative preschool.
They take you to court, and often using hearsay evidence, convict you of being unpleasant, then ban you from perfectly legal endeavors, like "riding bikes, feeding birds, being sarcastic, and wearing only underwear in front of a window."
According to Home Office, they've been used in some
outrageous ways:
- Two teenage boys from east Manchester forbidden to wear one golf glove.
- A 17-year-old forbidden to use the word "grass" as a term of abuse in order to threaten people.
- A 15-year-old forbidden to play football in his street.
- The oldest recipient of an ASBO, an 87-year-old man who was abusive to his neighbours.
- An 18-year-old male was banned from congregating with more than three youths, and subsequently arrested when he entered a very popular youth club
But even more distressing is the recent
report that 1000 children between the ages of 10 and 17...
...have been jailed for an average of six months each for breaching anti-social behaviour orders. Penal reformers and children's groups warned last night that the heavy-handed use of Asbos against youngsters risked turning them into criminals in adult life. And new figures showed that 986 children aged 10 to 17 were jailed for breaking Asbos between 2000, when they were launched, and the end of 2006. Another 300 to 400 youngsters are thought to have joined the total in 2007 and 2008.
(...)
Almost half of those locked up for breaching their Asbos have been jailed for four months. The average sentence was 6.4 months, compared with the 4.9 months handed to adults. In his report, Professor Morgan warned: "There is a good deal of anecdotal evidence, for example, that behaviour, particularly that of children and young people, is being criminalised which arguably would be better dealt with informally, and in previous times was."
Throwing kids in jail must always be done as a last resort, as it can turn behavior problems into criminals. And these orders are so restrictive in many cases, it is all but impossible for these kids to adhere to them. Almost half of all ABSOs are violated.
Critics also claim that "30 per cent of children given Asbos have been diagnosed with mental health problems or learning difficulties," making this writer wonder how many of these kids would benefit more from Ritalin than the big house.
Attention Deficit Disorder or Rowdy Youth? In the end, does it matter? As home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said, "It is totally unacceptable to send a single child to prison for breaching an Asbo, let alone the 1,000 children who have been sent."
You bet your bollocks it is.
