sentencing guidelines - Social Welfare Portal
sentencing guidelines - Social Welfare Portal
sentencing guidelines - Social Welfare Portal
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
YOUTH CRIME BRIEFING MARCH 2009<br />
Youth Crime briefing<br />
Breach of anti-social behaviour orders<br />
Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
Contents<br />
• Introduction page 1<br />
• About <strong>sentencing</strong><br />
<strong>guidelines</strong> page 1<br />
• Principles for making an<br />
ASBO page 2<br />
• Aim of <strong>sentencing</strong> for<br />
breach page 3<br />
• Sentencing for breach: guideline<br />
and principles applying to young<br />
people page 3<br />
• Assessing seriousness of<br />
breach page 4<br />
• New arrangements for review of<br />
ASBOs and making ISOs page 5<br />
• Appendix 1 page 6<br />
Youth Crime mailings<br />
If you do not already subscribe,<br />
contact Nacro Youth Crime about<br />
our quarterly mailing of briefings.<br />
Thanks to a generous donation<br />
from the Howard League, we offer<br />
a free subscription with each paid<br />
for subscription – spreading the<br />
word about youth justice.<br />
Nacro Youth Crime: training,<br />
consultancy, research and information<br />
Park Place, 10-12 Lawn Lane<br />
London SW8 1UD<br />
tel: 020 7840 1203<br />
fax: 020 7840 1213<br />
email: youth.crime@nacro.org.uk<br />
www.nacro.org.uk<br />
Nacro is a registered charity. Registration no. 226171.<br />
Nacro Youth Crime briefings are<br />
produced in partnership with the<br />
Howard League for Penal Reform.<br />
Contact www.howardleague.org<br />
Introduction<br />
This briefing considers the<br />
Sentencing Guidelines Council<br />
(SGC) definitive guideline on<br />
<strong>sentencing</strong> for breach of an antisocial<br />
behaviour order (the<br />
guideline). 1 The guideline deals<br />
with <strong>sentencing</strong> for both adults<br />
and children and young people.<br />
However, it provides separate and<br />
distinct guidance on the principles<br />
for dealing with the latter when<br />
they breach an anti-social<br />
behaviour order (ASBO). One of<br />
the key considerations in dealing<br />
with a breach is the way in which<br />
the original order was made, and<br />
its purpose. Thus, the guideline<br />
also sets out the principles for<br />
making an ASBO in the first<br />
instance. This briefing discusses<br />
those principles and they are set<br />
out in Appendix 1 below.<br />
In addition, closely following the<br />
publication of the guideline, the<br />
Youth Justice Board (YJB),<br />
Association of Chief Police<br />
Officers (ACPO) and the Home<br />
Office have published statutory<br />
guidance on the review of ASBOs<br />
and individual support orders<br />
(ISO) as provided for by the<br />
Criminal Justice and Immigration<br />
Act 2008. 2 This guidance has been<br />
taken into account in this briefing.<br />
Together with the new<br />
arrangements for reviewing<br />
ASBOs, the guideline should<br />
clarify issues regarding both the<br />
making and breach of orders with<br />
the potential to ensure better<br />
consistency around England and<br />
Wales, and to ensure that<br />
prohibitions made upon<br />
individuals are informed by the<br />
principles set out. If applied as<br />
described, the guideline could<br />
reduce the number of custodial<br />
sentences and improve the level<br />
of support to children and young<br />
people to help them to comply<br />
with orders and to reduce the risk<br />
of further criminal or anti-social<br />
behaviour.<br />
The guideline accordingly has<br />
considerable implications for<br />
practitioners involved in applying<br />
for or making ASBOs, conducting<br />
reviews of orders, initiating or<br />
<strong>sentencing</strong> breach proceedings, as<br />
well as for those providing<br />
pre-sentence reports or<br />
consultancy to courts.<br />
About <strong>sentencing</strong><br />
<strong>guidelines</strong><br />
The Sentencing Guidelines Council<br />
was established under the<br />
Criminal Justice Act 2003 (CJA<br />
2003). The SGC provides guidance<br />
on <strong>sentencing</strong> to the criminal<br />
courts for all age groups: adults<br />
and children and young people.<br />
Although there is a case for a<br />
youth justice system that is more<br />
distinct from that for adults, 3 the<br />
SGC was established to provide<br />
<strong>guidelines</strong> for the whole system.<br />
In practice, <strong>guidelines</strong> have<br />
sought to distinguish between<br />
adults and juveniles to some<br />
extent and a separate publication<br />
is currently subject to<br />
consultation dealing with<br />
<strong>sentencing</strong> those aged below 18<br />
(which will also address the<br />
forthcoming youth rehabilitation<br />
order).<br />
Do you need this briefing in another format?<br />
Tel: 020 7840 1203
Breach of anti-social behaviour orders Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
The SGC produces <strong>guidelines</strong> for the <strong>sentencing</strong> of<br />
particular offences, as well as other aspects of<br />
<strong>sentencing</strong>, including principles that should be<br />
applied and how matters should be allocated<br />
(transfers and committals to crown courts, mode of<br />
trial decisions).<br />
Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong> aim to improve consistency<br />
and effectiveness in <strong>sentencing</strong> across courts and<br />
regions, to enhance public confidence, and to<br />
ensure fairness and equity.<br />
The SGC aims to:<br />
• give authoritative guidance on <strong>sentencing</strong><br />
• provide a lead on the approach to <strong>sentencing</strong> and<br />
case allocation issues based on a principled<br />
approach that commands general support<br />
• enable sentencers to make decisions supported<br />
by information on the effectiveness of sentences<br />
and the most effective use of resources.<br />
A more comprehensive description and discussion<br />
of <strong>sentencing</strong> <strong>guidelines</strong>, including some<br />
background on the development of <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
around the world, how the SGC works and is<br />
constituted, and detail of previous <strong>guidelines</strong> as<br />
they apply to children and young people, is<br />
contained in a previous Nacro briefing. 4<br />
The status of <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
The <strong>guidelines</strong> produced by the SGC are applicable<br />
in all criminal courts as provided by the CJA 2003:<br />
Every court must:<br />
• in <strong>sentencing</strong> an offender, have regard to any<br />
<strong>guidelines</strong> which are relevant to the offender’s<br />
case, and<br />
• in exercising any other function relating to the<br />
<strong>sentencing</strong> of offenders, have regard to any<br />
<strong>guidelines</strong> which are relevant to the exercise of the<br />
function. 5<br />
In addition, any court that does not act in<br />
accordance with the <strong>guidelines</strong> must announce the<br />
reasons for this in open court.<br />
Principles for making an ASBO<br />
One of the important considerations set out in the<br />
guideline for <strong>sentencing</strong> in the case of breach of an<br />
ASBO is how and why the order was first made.<br />
Accordingly, the guideline clarifies the principles<br />
and other issues that are relevant to the making of<br />
an ASBO in the first instance.<br />
The principles provided are worthy of careful<br />
consideration and application in practice. They<br />
have a particular relevance to those preparing<br />
pre-sentence reports or responsible for other forms<br />
of consultation where a criminal ASBO might be<br />
made in addition to the sentence imposed for the<br />
offence(s) before the court, to those planning for<br />
other ASBO applications, and to those conducting<br />
reviews of ASBOs. In some areas of England and<br />
Wales, the principles might require changes in<br />
practice and, potentially, a reduction in the number<br />
of orders made as well as a new focus on the nature<br />
and number of prohibitions imposed.<br />
The SCG specifies as a starting point that an ASBO is<br />
a preventative order and that it is unlawful to use it<br />
as punishment. Nor should an ASBO be made as an<br />
alternative, or as an additional sanction, to another<br />
order of the court. These principles may be<br />
particularly pertinent to the making of an ASBO (in<br />
criminal proceedings) that does not commence until<br />
the date of release from a custodial sentence<br />
imposed at the same hearing. The SGC notes that,<br />
under these circumstances, an ASBO will rarely be<br />
appropriate where the length of a custodial<br />
sentence exceeds 12 months at which point licence<br />
conditions will come into effect in any event.<br />
Although it is not discussed in detail, it may be that<br />
the SCG had in mind both adult offenders as well as<br />
young people who break the law in this regard,<br />
since a detention and training order of less than<br />
twelve months also gives rise to enforceable<br />
conditions of supervision in the community. It<br />
might therefore be argued that ASBOs should only<br />
rarely be made alongside a custodial sentence of<br />
any length unless there are clear reasons for so<br />
doing. The potential need for prohibitions relating<br />
to geographical location is the only example cited in<br />
the guideline.<br />
With regard to principles for determining the length<br />
of an ASBO, it is recommended that the duration be<br />
specified and that it should be proportionate to the<br />
aim of the order and commensurate with the risk<br />
guarded against. The length of an ASBO on a child<br />
or young person should be determined with an eye<br />
to the greater potential for younger people to<br />
mature and change over a relatively short period of<br />
time.<br />
In addition, principles are established, or<br />
confirmed, regarding the nature and number of<br />
prohibitions made under an ASBO. These need not<br />
necessarily all run for the whole length of the ASBO<br />
period (although at least one prohibition must do<br />
so). Use should not be made of ‘standard lists’ of<br />
prohibitions nor, normally, should they prohibit<br />
actual specified offences (eg taking and driving<br />
away) which can be properly prosecuted as<br />
required. Prohibitions should not be so numerous<br />
or complex that they are not properly understood<br />
by the subject of the order or that might cause<br />
difficulty with regards to compliance.<br />
The full summary of principles and other<br />
considerations when making an ASBO as set down<br />
in the guideline are included at Appendix 1 below.<br />
page 2
YOUTH CRIME BRIEFING<br />
European Rules for juvenile offenders<br />
subject to sanctions or measures<br />
New European Rules for juvenile offenders<br />
subject to sanctions or measures, adopted by the<br />
Council of Ministers, tend to support the SGC<br />
guideline although, with regard to the making<br />
and breach of ASBOs, there are also some areas<br />
of tension that await resolution. The Rules 6<br />
recommend, inter-alia, that:<br />
• The imposition and implementation of sanctions<br />
or measures shall be based on the best interests<br />
of the juvenile offenders, limited by the gravity<br />
of the offences committed (principle of<br />
proportionality) and take account of their age,<br />
physical and mental well-being, development,<br />
capacities and personal circumstances<br />
(principle of individualisation) ...<br />
• Sanctions and measures shall be implemented<br />
without undue delay and only to the extent and<br />
for the period strictly necessary (principle of<br />
minimum intervention)<br />
• The juvenile’s right to privacy shall be fully<br />
respected at all stages of the proceedings ...<br />
• Priority shall be given to sanctions and<br />
measures that may have an educational impact<br />
as well as constituting a restorative response ...<br />
• If juveniles do not comply with the conditions<br />
and obligations of the community sanctions or<br />
measures imposed on them, this shall not lead<br />
automatically to deprivation of liberty. Where<br />
possible, modified or new community sanctions<br />
or measures shall replace the previous ones.<br />
• Failure to comply shall not automatically<br />
constitute an offence.<br />
Aim of <strong>sentencing</strong> for breach<br />
An ASBO is a preventative order and the aim of<br />
breach, set out in the guideline, is to ‘achieve the<br />
purpose of the order’. In <strong>sentencing</strong> for breach, the<br />
fact that it represents a failure to comply with a<br />
court order should be a secondary consideration.<br />
The primary purpose of <strong>sentencing</strong> is to reflect the<br />
harassment, alarm or distress actually involved (in<br />
which respect, breach of an ASBO is normally<br />
different to breach of a community order).<br />
As mentioned above, the reason for including<br />
principles that apply to the original making of an<br />
ASBO is that, in order to deal with a breach<br />
appropriately, the court should consider how and<br />
why the order was initially made.<br />
The guideline applies to cases being dealt with in<br />
court but there is nothing, at least in principle,<br />
preventing the use of ‘pre-court’ options, including<br />
warnings and conditional cautions.<br />
Sentencing for breach: guideline and<br />
principles applying to young people<br />
The guideline is clear that custody should be used<br />
as a last resort for breach of an ASBO and that the<br />
custody threshold should be set at a significantly<br />
higher level than for <strong>sentencing</strong> an adult for the<br />
same offence. The notions of <strong>sentencing</strong> thresholds<br />
for community or custodial sentences apply as for<br />
other offences. 7 Thus, community or custodial<br />
sentences must be warranted by the seriousness of<br />
the offence where no other sentence can be<br />
justified.<br />
In most cases, where the breach is admitted and<br />
there are no previous convictions, the sentence will<br />
be a referral order. 8 In other cases, the appropriate<br />
sentence is likely to be a community sentence.<br />
Sentencing depends, in large part, on the court’s<br />
assessment of seriousness, taking into account<br />
aggravating and mitigating factors, culpability and<br />
other considerations described below. Dependent<br />
on that assessment the guideline establishes<br />
principles that:<br />
• A fine or reparation order is appropriate where<br />
the breach is less serious (such as where it did<br />
not involve any harassment, alarm or distress).<br />
By law, a conditional discharge is not available<br />
for breach of an ASBO. 9<br />
• For the custody threshold to be crossed, the<br />
breach should normally involve serious<br />
harassment, alarm or distress. To be considered<br />
‘serious’, the breach should involve either the use<br />
of violence, threats or intimidation or the<br />
targeting of groups or individuals that led to a<br />
fear of violence. Exceptionally, the threshold<br />
might be crossed as a result of more than one<br />
offence, although there should still have been a<br />
substantial amount of harassment, alarm or<br />
distress involved.<br />
The principle of custody as a last resort, reflecting<br />
the requirements of international children’s human<br />
rights convention, lacks clear definition in domestic<br />
law. 10 But the guideline goes some way in<br />
strengthening the principle, and sets the normal<br />
maximum sentence as 12 months detention, by<br />
stating that:<br />
even where the custody threshold is crossed, the<br />
court should normally impose a community<br />
sentence in preference to a DTO, as custody<br />
should be used only as a measure of last resort;<br />
and<br />
where the court considers a custodial sentence to<br />
be unavoidable, the starting point for <strong>sentencing</strong><br />
should be 4 months detention, with a range up to<br />
12 months. Where a youth is being sentenced for<br />
more than one breach involving serious<br />
harassment, alarm or distress, the sentence may<br />
go beyond that range.<br />
page 3
Breach of anti-social behaviour orders Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
In addition, it might be noted that the equivalent<br />
guideline for adults gives a starting point of six<br />
weeks custody, a period that is not available for<br />
children and young people due to the minimum<br />
length of a detention and training order being set at<br />
four months. The guideline indicates that:<br />
The custody threshold should be set at a<br />
significantly higher level than the threshold<br />
applicable to adult offenders.<br />
The only form of custody available for breach of<br />
ASBO in the case of a child below the age of 18<br />
years is a detention and training order. (An order<br />
under section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts<br />
(Sentencing) Act 2000 is not available). As a<br />
consequence, there is no power to impose custody<br />
on a child aged 10 or 11 and detention is only<br />
available for a child aged from 12 to 14 only where<br />
if the court considers him or her to be a ‘persistent<br />
offender’. 11<br />
Where a court imposes a community sentence and<br />
leaves the ASBO in force, any requirements imposed<br />
should not be so onerous, in combination with<br />
ASBO prohibitions, that further breach is likely.<br />
The welfare of the child or young person remains a<br />
factor that the court must take into account 12 but, in<br />
the case of <strong>sentencing</strong> for breach of an ASBO, this is<br />
balanced against the interests of the public. 13 The<br />
guideline notes that the best interests of the child<br />
must be ‘a primary consideration’ in accordance<br />
with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of<br />
the Child and the ‘Beijing Rules’. 14 The SGC has, in<br />
this guideline and others, stressed the relevance of<br />
intellectual and emotional maturity as a<br />
consideration that should influence <strong>sentencing</strong> and<br />
notes that this should not always be detemined on<br />
the basis of chronological age alone. Thus, the<br />
guideline states that:<br />
A young offender is likely to perceive a particular<br />
time period as being longer in comparison with<br />
an adult, and this may be of relevance when<br />
considering how much time has elapsed between<br />
imposition and breach of the order.<br />
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the<br />
guideline, if followed, should result in custody for<br />
ASBO breaches in exceptional and rare<br />
circumstances only.<br />
Assessing seriousness of breach<br />
Essential considerations<br />
Initial assessment of seriousness of a breach is<br />
based on the culpability of the offender and the<br />
level of harm that was caused, was intended or was<br />
foreseeable. 15 These may be supplemented by<br />
consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors.<br />
Culpability is not a term that is always understood<br />
by children and young people who might better<br />
grasp the concept as the amount of blame, fault or<br />
criminality involved in their breach of a prohibition.<br />
The SGC has previously set out levels of culpability<br />
to assist courts in assessing seriousness. These<br />
range from the highest level involving intention to<br />
cause harm, through recklessness (as to harm being<br />
caused), does not intend harm (although aware of<br />
the possibility), through to the lower level of<br />
negligence. 16 Culpability can be, or even should be,<br />
reduced in the case of children and young people as<br />
a result of their lower intellectual or emotional<br />
maturity. Ashford, Chard and Redhouse identify<br />
some psychological features that may reduce<br />
culpability, including: 17<br />
• poor reasoning and problem-solving skills<br />
• the tendency for sensation-seeking<br />
• increased impulsivity<br />
• susceptibility to peer pressure.<br />
In outlining the approach to assessing culpability<br />
with regard to the seriousness of a breach of an<br />
ASBO, the guideline identifies two aspects, to do<br />
with intent to breach and intent to cause harm.<br />
Firstly, consideration should be given to the degree<br />
of intention to breach the order. This is ‘variable’<br />
but reflects the levels of culpability mentioned<br />
above. Thus, the person may have intended the<br />
breach, been reckless as to whether there was a<br />
breach, was merely aware of the risk of breach or, at<br />
the lower level, have been unaware of the risk of<br />
breach due to a lack of understanding of the<br />
prohibition(s).<br />
Secondly, consideration should be given to the<br />
degree to which the child or young person intended<br />
to cause the harm that resulted or could have<br />
resulted (or been foreseen). Harm may be harm<br />
caused to an individual, individuals or to the<br />
community or public at large. With regard to<br />
whether harm was foreseeable, the main test is that<br />
which would apply to ‘a reasonable person’. The<br />
SGC has previously stated that where harm was not<br />
easily foreseeable, the resulting lower level of<br />
culpability should carry more weight than the<br />
assessed level of harm. 18 Additionally, the<br />
assessment of seriousness can take into account<br />
whether the breach of a prohibition is relevant<br />
directly to the behaviour that the original ASBO was<br />
intended to prevent. Where in other words the<br />
young person engages in the kind of behaviour that<br />
led to an ASBO being imposed in the first place, the<br />
breach is likely to be more serious than where the<br />
behaviour is of a different sort.<br />
The guideline also confirms that the court may take<br />
into account, as one aspect of harm, the potential<br />
undermining of public confidence in the<br />
effectiveness of measures to address anti-social<br />
behaviour that might arise from the breach of a<br />
court ordered ASBO.<br />
page 4
YOUTH CRIME BRIEFING<br />
Breach of interim order<br />
The guideline is clear that breach of an interim<br />
order is of equal seriousness to the breach of a final<br />
order and that the approach to <strong>sentencing</strong> is the<br />
same. Sentencing should not be delayed to await the<br />
final hearing for the making of a final order<br />
although if they can be dealt with together that is<br />
preferable.<br />
Sentencing where a breach constitutes a<br />
new offence(s)<br />
Where a young person is taken to court for breach<br />
of an ASBO and the behaviour that constituted the<br />
breach represents an offence in its own right, there<br />
are a number of different possibilities. The court<br />
may be dealing with:<br />
• an offence of breach only, but one in which the<br />
circumstances of the breach constitute conduct<br />
that could have been charged as a new<br />
substantive offence, or<br />
• a substantive offence only, but one in which the<br />
conduct also constituted a breach of an ASBO<br />
prohibition, or<br />
• both offences (breach and new offence)<br />
Whichever of these apply, two main principles are<br />
set out in the guideline. Firstly, the result should be<br />
the same according to the facts and relevant aspects<br />
of the offence. Secondly, where the maximum<br />
sentence for the breach is greater than the<br />
maximum for the other offence (which could have<br />
been, or was, charged), the court should take this<br />
into account when determining what would<br />
constitute a proportionate disposal (but is not<br />
limited by it).<br />
Aggravating and mitigating factors<br />
The previous SGC guideline on seriousness 19<br />
contains a considerable number of examples of<br />
aggravating and mitigating factors, many of which<br />
might be relevant to breach of an ASBO. More<br />
specifically, the guideline gives some examples of<br />
aggravating and mitigating factors that could be<br />
considered (these apply to adult offenders):<br />
Aggravating factors include:<br />
• the young person has a history of disobedience<br />
to court orders<br />
• the breach was committed immediately or shortly<br />
after the ASBO was made<br />
• the breach was committed subsequent to earlier<br />
breach proceedings arising from the same order<br />
• there was targeting of a person the order was<br />
made to protect or a witness in the original<br />
proceedings.<br />
Examples of mitigating factors are:<br />
• the breach occurred after a long period of<br />
compliance<br />
• the prohibition(s) breached was not fully<br />
understood, especially where an interim order<br />
was made without notice.<br />
Personal mitigation<br />
Personal mitigation can be a factor in reducing the<br />
severity of sentence (along with other<br />
considerations such as a timely guilty plea). The<br />
guideline suggests that personal offender mitigation<br />
is particularly important in cases of breach of an<br />
ASBO because compliance depends on the ability of<br />
the subject to understand the prohibitions and<br />
terms of the order and to make rational decisions in<br />
relation to them. The guideline makes specific<br />
comment on <strong>sentencing</strong> children and young people,<br />
as mentioned earlier in this briefing, but also<br />
includes examples that might lead to mitigation of<br />
sentence for people of all ages:<br />
• the defendant has a lower level of understanding<br />
due to mental health issues or learning<br />
difficulties<br />
• the defendant was acting under the influence of<br />
an older or more experienced offender<br />
• there has been compliance with an individual<br />
support order or intervention order imposed<br />
when the ASBO was made.<br />
New arrangements for review of<br />
ASBOs and making ISOs<br />
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008<br />
introduces a new requirement to conduct reviews of<br />
ASBOs imposed on children and young people. It<br />
also amends the provisions in relation to individual<br />
support orders (ISOs) with the intention of<br />
encouraging an increase in the use of the latter. One<br />
of the purposes (among others) of requiring an<br />
annual review of an ASBO (the first review should<br />
normally be conducted within twelve months of the<br />
order being made) is to check the level of<br />
compliance with the order and its prohibitions.<br />
Thus, if good practice is established in line with the<br />
guidance, a reduction in breach proceedings might<br />
be achieved. The review process is intended to<br />
reflect the need to support children and young<br />
people and assist with compliance, rather than<br />
merely to enforce prohibitions. In the light of a<br />
review, a further application to a court might be<br />
made to discharge the ASBO where it is no longer<br />
considered necessary, or to modify it. The latter<br />
might involve varying the order by adding, reducing<br />
or amending the prohibitions attached to it.<br />
Prior to the legislative changes, there was a<br />
statutory presumption that the court should impose<br />
an ISO alongside an ASBO, made in civil proceedings<br />
page 5
Breach of anti-social behaviour orders Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
against a young person below the age of 18 years, if<br />
the court formed the opinion that an ISO would help<br />
to prevent further anti-social behaviour. The new<br />
legislative provisions extend that presumption to<br />
ASBOs made in criminal proceedings and county<br />
courts. In addition, an application for an ISO can<br />
now be made at any point while the ASBO remains<br />
in force, whether or not one was made at the<br />
original hearing. For instance, an application for an<br />
ISO is one of the options that might be considered<br />
as part of an annual review of an ASBO.<br />
An ISO lasts for a maximum of six months, and the<br />
revised legislation permits authorities to seek a<br />
second (or subsequent) order when the existing one<br />
expires, providing that the length of the ISO does<br />
not exceed the remaining life of the ASBO. In<br />
combination, the changes mean that more ISOs can<br />
be anticipated in the coming period.<br />
Appendix 1<br />
Summary of principles and other<br />
considerations relevant to the making of an<br />
anti-social behaviour order<br />
1. Proceedings for the imposition of an ASBO are<br />
civil in nature, so that hearsay evidence is<br />
admissible, but a court must be satisfied to a<br />
criminal standard that the individual has acted<br />
in the anti-social manner alleged.<br />
2. The test of ‘necessity’ requires the exercise of<br />
judgement or evaluation; it does not require<br />
proof beyond reasonable doubt that the order is<br />
‘necessary’.<br />
3. It is particularly important that the findings of<br />
fact giving rise to the making of the order are<br />
recorded by the court.<br />
4. As the ASBO is a preventative order it is<br />
unlawful to use it as a punishment; so, when<br />
<strong>sentencing</strong> an offender, a court must not allow<br />
itself to be diverted into making an ASBO as an<br />
alternative or additional sanction.<br />
5. The police have powers to arrest an individual<br />
for any criminal offence, and the court should<br />
not impose an order which prohibits the subject<br />
from committing an offence if it will not add<br />
significantly to the existing powers of the police<br />
to protect others from anti-social behaviour by<br />
the subject. An order must not prohibit a<br />
criminal offence merely to increase the sentence<br />
range available for that offence.<br />
6. The terms of the order made must be precise<br />
and capable of being understood by the<br />
subject. 20 Where the subject is aged below<br />
18 years, it is important for both the subject<br />
and the parent or guardian to confirm their<br />
understanding of the order and its terms. The<br />
prohibitions must be enforceable in the sense<br />
that they should allow a breach to be readily<br />
identified and capable of being proved.<br />
7. An order should not impose a ‘standard list’ of<br />
prohibitions, but should identify and prohibit<br />
the particular type of anti-social behaviour that<br />
gives rise to the necessity of an ASBO. Each<br />
separate prohibition must be necessary to<br />
protect persons from anti-social behaviour by<br />
the subject, and each order must be specifically<br />
fashioned to deal with the individual concerned.<br />
8. The order must be proportionate to the<br />
legitimate aim pursued and commensurate with<br />
the risk guarded against. The court should avoid<br />
making compliance very difficult through the<br />
imposition of numerous prohibitions, and those<br />
that will cause great disruption to the subject<br />
should be considered with particular care. It is<br />
advisable to make an order for a specific period;<br />
when considering the duration of an order<br />
imposed on a youth, the potential for the<br />
subject to mature may be a relevant factor.<br />
9. Not all prohibitions set out in an ASBO have to<br />
run for the full term of the ASBO itself. The test<br />
must always be what is necessary to deal with<br />
the particular anti-social behaviour of the<br />
offender and what is proportionate in the<br />
circumstances. At least one of the prohibitions<br />
must last for the duration of the order but not<br />
all are required to last for the two years that is<br />
the minimum length of an order. The court can<br />
vary the terms of an order at any time upon<br />
application by the subject (or the applicant in<br />
the case of an order made upon application).<br />
10. When making an order upon conviction, the<br />
court has the power to suspend its terms until<br />
the offender has been released from a custodial<br />
sentence. However, where a custodial sentence<br />
of 12 months or more is imposed and the<br />
offender is liable to be released on licence and<br />
thus subject to recall, an order will not generally<br />
be necessary. There might be cases where<br />
geographical restraints could supplement<br />
licence conditions.<br />
11. Other considerations:<br />
(i) Where an ASBO is imposed on a subject aged<br />
10 – 17, the court must consider whether a<br />
parenting order would be desirable in the<br />
interests of preventing repetition of the antisocial<br />
behaviour. Such an order must be made<br />
where the young person is aged below 16 years<br />
and the condition is met, but is discretionary<br />
where the young person is aged 16 or 17.<br />
(ii) Where a magistrates’ court imposes an ASBO<br />
on a young person, it must also consider<br />
whether an individual support order (ISO) would<br />
be desirable to tackle the underlying causes of<br />
the behaviour.<br />
(iii) In the case of an adult, the court may make<br />
an intervention order if the underlying causes of<br />
the anti-social behaviour are drug-related and<br />
appropriate treatment is available.<br />
page 6
YOUTH CRIME BRIEFING<br />
12. Interim orders:<br />
Where a decision to impose an order (either<br />
upon application or conviction) is pending, the<br />
court may make an interim order if it considers<br />
it just to do so. The court must balance the<br />
seriousness of the behaviour and the urgency<br />
with which it is necessary to take steps to<br />
control it, with the likely impact of an interim<br />
order upon the potential subject. 21<br />
page 7
Breach of anti-social behaviour orders Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong><br />
References<br />
1 Sentencing Guidelines Council (December 2008) Breach of<br />
an anti-social behaviour order: definitive Guideline.<br />
Available at http://www.<strong>sentencing</strong>-<strong>guidelines</strong>.gov.uk/<br />
2 YJB/ACPO/Home Office (2009) A Guide to Reviewing<br />
Anti-social Behaviour Orders given to Young People and<br />
Individual Support Orders. Available at http://www.<br />
respect.gov.uk/uploadedFiles/Members_site/Documents_<br />
and_images/Enforcement_tools_and_powers/ASBO_<br />
ISOReviewGuideJan09_0157.pdf<br />
3 This is in line with international convention, treaties and<br />
rules for juvenile justice, including the United Nations<br />
Convention on the Rights of the Child available at<br />
www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm<br />
4 See Nacro (2007) Sentencing <strong>guidelines</strong> for juveniles: part<br />
one. Youth crime briefing, December 2007. Nacro.<br />
Available for download at http://www.nacro.org.uk/data/<br />
resources/nacro-2008050100.pdf<br />
5 See section 172 of Criminal Justice Act 2003<br />
6 Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)11 of the Committee of<br />
Ministers to member states on the European Rules for<br />
juvenile offenders subject to sanctions or measures<br />
Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 5 November<br />
2008. Available at www.europeanrights.eu/getFile.<br />
php?name=public/atti/racc_ing.doc<br />
7 Sections 148(1) and 152(2) of Criminal Justice Act 2003<br />
8 But note that a court dealing with a breach of an<br />
individual support order does not have a referral order<br />
available<br />
9 Section 1(11) of Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Note that<br />
this precludes the use of a conditional discharge but not<br />
an absolute discharge<br />
10 The SCG previously published a useful guideline to assist<br />
with determining <strong>sentencing</strong> thresholds. See: Sentencing<br />
Guidelines Council (2004) Overarching Principles:<br />
seriousness available at www.<strong>sentencing</strong>-<strong>guidelines</strong>.gov.uk<br />
11 For further details of the availability of the detention and<br />
training order, see Nacro (2007) The detention and training<br />
order: current position and future developments. Youth<br />
crime briefing, June 2007. Nacro<br />
12 Section 44 of Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Also<br />
note the relevance of welfare in <strong>sentencing</strong> included in<br />
section 11 of Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008<br />
13 The guideline refers to the judgement in R (A) v Leeds<br />
Magistrates’ Court [2004] EWHC Admin 554 which held<br />
that in the case of a child, the child’s best interests are a<br />
primary consideration but so are the interests of the<br />
public<br />
14 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child<br />
(particularly Article 3), available at www2.ohchr.org/<br />
english/law/crc.htm . The ‘Beijing Rules’ are the United<br />
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration<br />
of Juvenile Justice, available at www.ohchr.org<br />
15 Section 143(1) of Criminal Justice Act 2003<br />
16 Sentencing Guidelines Council (2004) Overarching<br />
Principles: Seriousness available at www.<strong>sentencing</strong><strong>guidelines</strong>.gov.uk<br />
17 Ashford, M, Chard, A, Redhouse, N (2006) Defending Young<br />
People in the Criminal Justice System (Third Edition). Legal<br />
Action Group. London<br />
18 SGC (2004) op cit<br />
19 SGC (2004) op cit<br />
20 A Guide for the Judiciary produced by the Judicial Studies<br />
Board (third edition published January 2007) provides a<br />
list of examples of prohibitions that the higher courts<br />
have found to be too wide or poorly drafted.<br />
See www.jsboard.co.uk<br />
21 Leeds Magistrates’ Court, ex parte Kenny; Secretary of State<br />
for Constitutional Affairs and another, ex parte M [2004]<br />
EWCA Civ 312<br />
page 8