Out of order

ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour orders can never be more than a sticking plaster for society's ills. That is the inescapable conclusion of grim figures which show two-thirds of these devices being breached in Yorkshire. That may not justify their abolition but it highlights serious problems over the way they are used.

The orders will work best as part of a range of sanctions because they are a weak form of punishment, and, in some cases, have even become a badge of honour. It is no wonder Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has indicated they will be scrapped.

Asbos have had some impact on stopping yobs' campaigns of intimidation against law-abiding individuals, but they have not come close to being the deterrent envisioned by Tony Blair when he introduced them in 1998.

A high proportion of Asbos are served on teenagers, but for anyone over the age of criminal responsibility, only traditional criminal proceedings can deter them from committing crime. This is vital because of the obvious temptation to progress from relatively minor offences to acts of violence, while years of abuse can have a devastating effect, as shown by the case of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter after years of harassment from a teenage gang in Leicestershire.

Now the challenge for Ms May is to come up with something better.