Opinions sharply divided on whether or not ASBOs are way forward

THE controversial introduction of ASBOs for children as young as 12 sparked huge rifts among the government, state services and children’s organisations, with opinion remaining sharply divided.

The academic view: “The evidence in the UK is that at the very best they don’t work very effectively if they work at all — 50% of the orders are breached. So in 50% of cases the message is not getting through.

“In the other 50% is the other problem, which is they have a detrimental impact on young people.