Gang member turned minister on youth crime

A Home Office minister has told the Commons he was in a gang in his younger days. Skip related content

David Hanson, minister for policing, crime and counter-terrorism, introduced yesterday's debate on tackling antisocial behaviour.

"I was involved in a gang when I was a young person," Hanson told MPs.

"They want to have the freedom to do things in a reasonable way and to enjoy the community, and we need to look at where their activities split and start to do damage to the community and become a negative force.

"The work that we are trying to do, in enforcement and in prevention, has that aim."

He added that "all being done in a positive manner to ensure that we can provide local alternative activities".

Hanson re-iterated a pledge of £2.8 million over the next two years for a network of 85 victims and witness champions to be set up in priority areas across the country.

"Antisocial behaviour has a devastating impact on the lives of individuals and their communities across the United Kingdom as a whole," he told MPs.

"I want to send a message from this despatch box that antisocial behaviour never has been acceptable and that it never will be.

"The government will continue to drive down antisocial behaviour to ensure that people have the right to enjoy their lives in peace, free from the devastating and often extremely damaging effects of such behaviour in their communities.

"We all know from our own constituency experiences that graffiti, noise and petty vandalism are extremely important to those on whom they are inflicted and that they need to be tackled by the responsible agencies; I mean not only the police, but local authorities and others involved."

He added that councils and police were under an expectation to take breached ASBOs to court.

"Members will know that, from crack house closure orders to dispersal orders and, most recently, premise closure orders, we have given a range of powers that are now being exercised by local police through the courts to ensure that innumerable people in communities across the country are spared the difficulties caused by individual properties, licensed premises or individuals causing concern," he said.

"Enforcement is only one aspect of the work that we need to undertake.

"We need to ensure that the underlying problems that lead to antisocial behaviour are tackled at their roots.

"That is why we have undertaken action with perpetrators and their families, with the level of support needed to tackle the underlying causes of that behaviour."

James Brokenshire, Conservative shadow minister, said: "Issues of anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, threatening or abusive behaviour absolutely are a police responsibility."

He went on to argue that they are "precisely the matters that community police teams should be confronting and helping to address".

He pledged to cut police bureaucracy and said "we need officers to be on the streets, not behind their desks". He also suggested introducing grounding orders on persistent offenders.

Brokenshire concluded by suggesting that what was needed was "societal change" to "promote safer and more cohesive communities".

He faced close questioning from two former Labour ministers.

Siobhain McDonagh (Lab, Mitcham and Morden) accused him of using a radio interview "to mock the government's attempts to deal with what he said was a particularly difficult issue, so has he been converted to the cause of dealing with antisocial behaviour and, if so, when did that happen?"

Brokenshire said the Tories had "always been committed to dealing with antisocial behaviour".

Hazel Blears (Lab, Salford) said the Conservatives have experienced "a damascene conversion to tackling antisocial behaviour, but I am afraid that his actions are not always as strong as his words".

She added: "If he believes that antisocial behaviour orders constitute effective powers to tackle antisocial behaviour, will he explain why his party wanted to reduce their length from two years to three months?"

Brokenshire said antisocial behaviour orders "can be effective" but need to be subjected to "analysis, and to bear in mind the complete lack of focus on them that the government have displayed".

Chris Huhne, Lib Dem shadow home secretary argued that the government's plans for tackling anti-social behaviour were not working.

He pointed out that ASBOs were "routinely breached". He argued that "ASBOs should be "a last resort and not something we should reach for as a panacea."

Instead, he advocated early interventions, community based punishments and the use of acceptable behaviour contracts.

He added that the reoffending rate for people involved in restorative justice schemes was much lower than for those sent into custody.