§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to ensure courts give particular consideration to the impact of antisocial behaviour on victims, witnesses and the wider community. [165917]
§ Ms BlearsSection 16 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 requires courts to give particular consideration to the impact of antisocial behaviour on victims, witnesses and the wider community in all nuisance-related housing possession cases.
The Magistrates' Association implemented new sentencing guidelines on 1 January 2004, including for the first time guidelines for the offence of breach of an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO). The guidelines reflect the seriousness of the offence and direct the magistrate to consider the impact on the victim.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many areas have been designated as an area of persistent antisocial behaviour by a senior Merseyside police officer since the inception of this power. [165919]
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§ Ms BlearsMerseyside police tell me that three areas have been designated as areas where antisocial behaviour is a significant and persistent problem since these powers came into force.
§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the new antisocial behaviour prosecutor teams in the Crown Prosecution Service. [166682]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Attorney General, together with the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Director of Public Prosecutions, will be announcing today that 12 specialist Anti-Social Behaviour Expert Prosecutors have now taken up their post in hot spot areas around the country.
They will be dedicated to working closely with their local communities and colleagues in the Criminal Justice System, to combat antisocial behaviour, which, although at the lower end of the criminal scale of offences, are the cases which most affect law-abiding people, who remain trapped in their homes through fear of crime.
The Home Office, Crown Prosecution Service and Department of Constitutional Affairs will be working closely together to ensure that the Anti-Social Behaviour Expert Prosecutors will achieve their objective of ensuring that the maximum benefit is derived from the new powers given to them by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 as well as spreading best practice and providing expert advice.