Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been promoted as 'mixing the best of the civil and criminal law'. Critically explore this legislative innovation with particular reference to its underlying ideology.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been promoted as 'mixing the best of the civil and criminal law'. Critically explore this legislative innovation with particular reference to its underlying ideology.

As a fairly recently developed innovation, introduced less than six years ago on the 1st April 1999 under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) remains a popular topic of discussion for politicians, the media and the broader general public alike. The Government has recently reiterated its intention to stamp out the problems cited under the somewhat broad heading of 'antisocial behaviour' by introducing new powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. It is clear that the Government considers this a priority in the field of dealing with crime, be that for ideological reasons or for political reasons.

Firstly it is important to look at what anti-social behaviour is, and what the anti-social behaviour order aims to achieve, before it is possible to determine the success of the measure and assess the degree to which the aims have been achieved. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defined antisocial behaviour as acting in a "manner that caused or was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress