The Home Secretary has announced plans for new ‘Respect Orders’ to handle anti-social behaviour, with offenders facing up to two years in prison.

These new powers include the ability to ban ‘hooligans’ from town centres and will allow police to seize vehicles, such as off-road bikes or e-scooters, with no prior warning. They also aim to address causes of anti-social behaviour, with mandatory alcohol, drug and anger management courses.

Yvette Cooper described them as ‘a modernised version’ of ASBOs, or Anti-Social Behaviour Orders, which were created by Tony Blair in 1998. Keir Starmer has stated that these orders show the government is ‘delivering’ on a manifesto pledge to ‘take back our streets’.

However, human rights groups have called into question the potential exploitation of such power. Akiko Hart, director of the campaign group Liberty commented: ‘This expansion is especially concerning given we know from experience that these powers are routinely misused by the police, in particular to criminalise those experiencing homelessness.’ Others have questioned why the government is returning to ASBO-like powers; Theresa May, in 2010, stated that they ‘often criminalised young people unnecessarily, acting as a conveyor belt to serious crime and prison’.

The Respect Orders are announced against a backdrop of one million anti-social behaviour incidents reported to police in the year to September 2023.