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ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ORDERS
Asbos would not have kept me out of
jail
It was good to see the Prime Minister hit the ground
running on his first week back from holiday as he set about tackling the
problem of unruly behaviour among sections of the nation's youth.
Throughout the country people see anti-social behaviour as a blight on
their communities and Tony Blair is right to address people's worries.
But I know that Anti Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) are not the answer.
The most high-profile element of the Asbos: allowing youngsters to have
their name and photo emblazoned across the posters and local papers for
minor offences, could well do more harm than good. They call it 'name
and shame' but, believe me, the Asbo is more likely to be seen as 'name
and fame' to the aspiring lout.
Why am I so sure? I am speak from experience as an
accomplished student of the school of juvenile delinquency. From there I
graduated easily to the college of criminality and a number of custodial
sentences. So I know what I'm talking about. I look at each new crime
initiative with interest wondering if it would have worked for me. This
one would not have deterred me at all. Had the Asbo concept been around
at the time I was offending, I would have undoubtedly wanted to earn one
to show off to my friends, just as most children enjoy displaying their
better-than-expected GCSE results.
My equally anti-social associates ―
green with envy ― would have
given me a pat on the back for my accomplishment before setting off for
a bit of skulduggery themselves, in a bid to match or better my
achievement. I have no doubt that for many young people aspiring
to a life of crime, the Asbo has become another rite of passage towards
adult imprisonment along with police cautions, and time at a secure unit
or a young offenders' institutions. Sadly, it may give children who have
trouble fitting in a way of winning the admiration of their peers. The
poor or scruffy or daft child has always been a target for bullies, but
not if he or she can be naughtier, not if they can be 'named and famed'.
I know the Asbo is a civil measure
― that the criminal offence only happens after an Asbo is
breached. We won't be branding these young people as criminals, just
anti-social. But I know from personal experience that once you are
labelled you become resentful. And resentment can be quickly followed by
defiance and misplaced pride. As in other areas of life, you are only as
good as your last accomplishment, so in order to get the accolades of
your peers, you must continue to produce the goods. Once on that road,
it's easy to get lost, as I found to my bitter cost In my experience the
only boys in my crowd who would have been deterred by an Asbo are those
who would go home to a savage beating at the hands of a bullying parent.
I don't have the answer, but I know the Asbo quick fix
will not work. My own turning point came when someone pointed out that
other kids from a background similar to mine ―
the sort currently on the Asbo hit list ―
might be looking to me as some sort of role model. Until then, I'd had a
lifetime of being named and shamed and told publicly and privately just
how bad I was. By that time I was in my mid-twenties and serving a
seven-year sentence at Wormwood Scrubs. Someone had the inspired idea to
get me working at a special unit there with disruptive children
― exactly the sort of young people who now
receive Asbos.
I was in a better position than any authority figure
to tell them what really lay ahead for them, without labelling them
'anti-social' or anything else. And it made me feel I was doing
something positive for the first time in my life. That unit has now,
tragically, closed down because it was judged too expensive. My chance
came because I happened to be in one of the few places within the penal
system where instead of dehumanising you, they treated and spoke to
inmates as fellow men. Finally, someone had made an effort to treat me
like a fellow human being. I started acting like one.
Craig Morrison
5 September 2004
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1297538,00.html
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