Rabbitte wants anti-social behaviour orders

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte has called for controversial UK-style anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) that are used to combat anti-social and criminal activities.

The proposal forms part of a Labour Party discussion paper on a strategy for tackling anti-social behaviour, which was unveiled today.

The Labour Party proposal says ASBOs should be "part of the armoury" available to gardaí but should be independently monitored to ensure civil liberties are unaffected.

In Britain, where ASBOs were first introduced amid controversy in 1999, a breach of the order is a criminal offence, and offenders can face sentences varying from six months for youths to five years for adults.

Opponents say ASBOs criminalise children as they are applicable to anyone over 10 years of age.

Mr Rabbitte said Labour was often depicted as being "soft on crime" but countered that communities must be protected from the "scourge of anti-social behaviour" and that he could not stand by and see people's lives "made miserable by a tiny minority."

The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children stated its opposition to the introduction of ASBOs earlier this month. "Such measures will serve to criminalise children, something which will ultimately cost the State more and further isolate these young people," it said.

The Labour Party paper also calls for improvements in community policing, the implementation of the 2001 Children's Act and the establishment of a cross-departmental agency that would have the power to co-ordinate the work of all statutory bodies that work with children.