Former Home Secretary, Rt Hon David Blunkett MP, has reacted to Theresa May’s speech on anti-social behaviour today, saying that she appears to be under a “dangerous delusion”.
Mr Blunkett was responsible as Home Secretary for giving police and communities the powers to tackle anti-social behaviour, including Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and dispersal orders, which Theresa May has today announced she will review.
Mr Blunkett said: “The Home Secretary seems to be operating under a very dangerous delusion – namely, that it is communities who are the cause of anti-social behaviour as well as its victims, rather than individuals and persistently dysfunctional families.
“Communities have always been prepared to work with the police to prevent anti-social behaviour; and ASBOs and dispersal and curfew orders have been dramatically effective in reducing anti-social behaviour – and fear of it – across the country.
“As soon as I heard the Home Secretary talk about ‘criminalising’ young people – when an initial ASBO is a civil order – I knew that, sadly, the Secretary of State does not know what she is talking about.
“This may spring from the fact that anti-social behaviour in Maidenhead and Windsor is somewhat less of a problem than it is in major urban and inner-city communities, such as the one I represent.”
Mr Blunkett added: “A few weeks ago, Damian Green, the junior Home Office minister, said in the House of Commons that ‘the civil libertarians are in the ascendancy in the Conservative Party’.
“Theresa May’s statement today underlines this fact – and poses a major threat to the lives and well-being of those at the very sharp end of criminality and dysfunctional communities.”
ENDS
Hopefully Teresa May will not disgrace the Office of State in quite the same way that you did.
As for ASBOs, in terms of a CHAV badge of honour, yes, it's time they were abolished and something more effective was brought in.
Posted by: Ben Bamber | 07/28/2010 at 08:58 PM