When Jack McConnell launched his now much-vaunted crusade against antisocial
behaviour, Easterhouse was a natural starting point. The grimly postmodern
housing estate on the eastern periphery of Glasgow ticks all the boxes when
it comes to social deprivation. Its uneducated, unhealthy, impoverished
residents live in often squalid conditions where alcoholism, drug abuse and
low-level disorder thrive. Gangs of drunken youths patrol the streets after
dark, brawling, vandalising property and intimidating locals.
On a visit to the area in 2003, the first minister promised zero tolerance of
noise, drunkenness and disorder, adding that “no street in Scotland should
be a no-go zone for any citizen, young or old”.
Antisocial behaviour orders (Asbos), which impose restrictions on those
convicted of low-level crime, would be extended to under16s. Dispersal
orders, affording police powers to move on loitering youths, would be
introduced and curfews would ban the most rowdy offenders from leaving their
homes after dark.
“Wherever I go in Scotland, people tell me that one of their biggest concerns
is the level of crime in their areas,” McConnell told the people of
Easterhouse. “Whether it is graffiti, vandalised bus shelters, damaged cars
or verbal and physical attacks, people in Scotland are sick and tired of
seeing their communities and local businesses dragged down.
“Government needs to be on the side of ordinary, decent families. That is why
I have made it a priority to remove this blight. Delivering a new AntiSocial
Behaviour Bill will be one of the new executive’s highest priorities.”
Four years on, how is this brave new world of order and respect for authority?
For Austin Martin, who has lived in Easterhouse for 30 years, things have
not improved. In fact, they have become intolerable.
“You can’t get peace. I’ve lived here for many years but it’s getting worse,”
he says.
“All the pensioners who live around here go out in the morning for their
shopping then don’t go out again all day because they are so intimidated.”
The 59-year-old former builder, who uses a walking stick, added: “If I don’t
go into the shop and buy the young ones drink, they kick my stick away.
“They have thrown eggs at my windows because they know I can’t chase them. The
government isn’t doing enough and I want to see more police on the streets.”
The experience of residents in Easterhouse is being replicated in
neighbourhoods across Scotland. New figures published today reveal that,
while serious violent and sexual crime is marginally down year-on-year,
lower-level crime is on the rise.
Category six crimes, which include antisocial behaviour, saw a 2% increase
nationwide, while category five crimes, which include public order offences
and breaches of antisocial behaviour orders, rose 7%. In Ibrox, in the south
side of Glasgow, category six crimes almost doubled, from 595 to 1099, the
highest rise of any police beat area in Scotland.
In nearby Govan there were more than twice as many category five crimes: 441,
compared with 216 the previous year. In Airdrie East, category six crimes
rose 25%, from 588 to 736, and in the Calderwood area of East Kilbride they
almost doubled, from 56 to 111. In Edinburgh’s Southside beat, category five
crimes rose by a third, from 305 to 403. In Central Scotland’s Bantaskine
beat, category six crimes rose 162%, from 295 to 775, while category five
crimes in Stenhousemuir more than tripled, from 36 to 124.
For McConnell the statistics are a mixed bag. Under his watch, Scotland has
endured a flurry of international statistics branding it one of the most
violent countries in the world. A World Health Organisation report revealed
that it had the second-highest murder rate in western Europe with its
citizens more than three times as likely to be killed than those living in
England and Wales.
A United Nations study claimed it was the most violent country in the
developed world with more than 2,000 people being attacked every week and
three times more likely to be victims of violent assault than those in
America. Another study, published by the University of California, claimed
that Scotland had a higher violent death rate than America, Israel,
Uzbek-istan, Chile and Uruguay.
So it will be satisfying for the first minister to be able to point to
statistics showing that incidents of violent crime — including murder,
culpable homicide and serious assault — are down by 4% in the past year.
Even more impressive are figures showing that crimes of indecency, including
rape and indecent assault, are down by 13%.
There were also reductions in crimes of dishonesty, such as theft and
housebreaking, and in fire-raising and vandalism.
Senior police officers attribute the reductions to better intelligence sharing
with hospitals and councils that has helped them to identify crime hotspots
and target resources. Other initiatives such as hand-held metal detectors
and posting police officers in schools have helped to tackle the menace of
Scotland’s knife culture.
Ministers say that measures such as special youth courts, being piloted in
parts of the country, are proving a deterrent against reoffending and that
sweeping court reforms are freeing up police officers on the beat.
However, for a leader who staked his reputation on tackling the scourge of
antisocial behaviour, the latest statistics are disappointing. Since Labour
came to power, all but three of Scotland’s 32 council areas have seen rising
levels of low level crime and disorder.
McConnell will be the first to point out that blame for the apparent failure
of his legislation lies elsewhere. Since the introduction of the Antisocial
Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act in 2004, the use of Asbos and other measures
has been sporadic. Police and local authorities have failed to use its
powers, claiming they lock youths into a cycle of criminality.
Between 2004 and 2006 six dispersal orders were issued and last year 300 Asbos
were applied, a third of which were breached. About 100 of the orders were
granted by courts against women.
Last year, Dundee, North Lanarkshire, North Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Fife made
the heaviest use of Asbos, issuing more than half of those used in Scotland.
Half of all subjects were aged over 26, while only four orders were made
against 12 to 15-year-olds — two in Edinburgh, one in Dundee and one in
Renfrewshire. More than three-quarters of the incidents that prompted
councils to apply for Asbos took place near the perpetrator’s home, with
most stemming from complaints about noisy neighbours.
Across Scotland, only one order was granted for street begging last year, and
three were granted in relation to prostitution or sexual behaviour. All four
of these cases were in Edinburgh.
The vast majority of Asbos granted involved council or housing association
tenants or their families.
There has been a reluctance to mete out more controversial measures such as
parenting orders aimed at punishing those who fail to control their
children. There is also evidence that hardened louts in parts of Scotland
view Asbos as a badge of honour.
Last year, council chiefs wrote to the Scottish executive making clear they
did not intend to increase their use of the orders among under16s. They
claimed the orders assigned youngsters an inverted kudos and were more
likely to lock them into a cycle of criminal behaviour. Instead, they have
proposed alternative sanctions, including community service and anger
management courses, to reduce youth crime and antisocial behaviour. FOR the
victims of low-level crime rhetoric and reality remain as far apart as ever.
“The government isn’t doing enough — this is still the worst area for
antisocial behaviour,” said Emma Harper a 20-year-old mother from
Ibrox. “The graffiti, all the writing on the walls, it’s terrible. The Asbos
don’t make a difference. I know some people who have had them and they’re
still running wild. If I wasn’t from here, I wouldn’t want to come here.”
Zishan Anwer, 22, a shop worker said crime in the area was “out of control”.
“Day in, day out you have problems. If you refuse a customer alcohol because
they are underage, they start grabbing things from the shop and throwing
things, or they smash your window.”
Catherine Charpen, 55, a clerical assistant, said: “The kids around here run
riot and their language is disgusting. They use my street to escape from the
police. Asbos don’t make a difference because if the kids are going to cause
trouble, an Asbo won’t stop them.”
Opposition politicians insist that the picture is bad across the spectrum of
crime. While total crime dropped by 3% last year, according to the new
figures, they insist that Labour has a poor record overall. Since 1999
overall crime is still up by 8%, according to the Scottish Conservatives.
The parties each have their strategies for tackling crime at the forthcoming
election. The Liberal Democrats intend to recruit an additional 1,000 beat
police officers, introduce tougher jail sentences for carrying a knife and
establish American-style youth courts.
The Scottish National party will invest in more effective security and
crime-preven-tion measures, such as more community police officers. It also
intends to reinstate the Airborne Initiative, a boot camp for persistent
young offenders.
The Scottish Conservatives have pledged to spend £100m on drug rehabilitation,
recruit an additional 1,500 beat police officers and scrap the double
jeopardy law.
“We live in a society where only 10% of all crimes result in a conviction and
three out of every four crimes are not even reported to the police,” said
Annabel Goldie, leader of the Scottish Tories.
“Indeed, a crime or offence is committed in Scotland every 30 seconds. Since
1999 we have seen an alarming increase in drug crimes, crimes of indecency,
handling offensive weapons and vandalism.
“The Lib-Lab pact has a sorry record of keeping Scotland safe — it has run out
of time, run out of ideas, and is about to be run out of office. Any
government which fails in its primary duty of protecting the public has lost
the right to rule.”
Kenny Macaskill, the SNP justice spokesman, said it was time to target the
“all too easy” availability of alcohol. “Low-level crime and antisocial
behaviour is what blights the lives of far too many people in Scotland,” he
said. “It’s unacceptable and we need a culture of responsibility, not simply
the dispensation of Asbos which have become a badge of honour.
“We need to target drink, drugs and deprivation because individuals must
take responsibility for their behaviour but government must take
responsibility for communities.
“We need a visible police presence in communities, deterring criminals and
reassuring citizens. We also need to target the availability of cheap drink
to teenagers and children. The on-sale trade has tidied up its act but we
have to address the off-sales trade.
“Asbos are a short-term fix, they are not a long-term solution and this
executive has been found out.”
Senior police officers insist that the rise in antisocial behaviour figures is
due partly to the public’s increased willingness to report loutish
behaviour. The advent of mobile phones and better partnerships with
councils, schools and hospitals means more crimes are reported.
“We are dedicating more resources at antisocial behaviour because of the
political spotlight and the recent legislation which, I think, is giving us
a far better picture of the extent of it,” said Peter Wilson, chief
constable of Fife constabulary and spokesman for the Association of Chief
Police Officers in Scotland.
Despite increasing numbers of people breaching the terms of Asbos, the
Scottish executive insists its strategy is working. “Crime is falling and
Scotland is becoming a less violent place with serious violent crime now at
its lowest level since devolution. The Antisocial Behaviour Act, which
included measures to help the police and other agencies prevent and tackle
antisocial behaviour and promote community safety, was designed to deal with
the so-called minor offending that can blight people’s lives.
“Our research shows that more and more people are aware that they have a
responsibility to do something about antisocial behaviour in their
communities. The increasing number of orders being used also shows that
councils clearly believe they are an effective way of tackling antisocial
behaviour.” Tom Wood, chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and
Drug Action Teams and former deputy chief constable of Lothian and Borders
police, said that the issue of binge-drinking had to be addressed before the
rise in antisocial behaviour was curbed.
“There’s no doubt there has been a steady increase in rowdy behaviour and
assaults on the streets due to public drunkenness,” he said.
“For a couple of decades police very much left the alcohol-related crimes but
now they are starting to regain that ground. The rise in antisocial crime
might also indicate increased police activity. I suspect it’s a little bit
of both.”
Vincent Egan, a professor of forensic psychology at Glasgow Caledonian
University, said: “Youths are getting away with being badly behaved because
people are more afraid to intervene and there is often no adult figure to
provide a break on delinquent young boys.
“Perhaps police detection rates of crime are becoming more effective and with
the reduction in serious crimes perhaps people are becoming more intolerant
of minor crimes and willing to report them.
“But I also think the increase in the abuse of alcohol is significant. Young
people are drinking in the streets and most of the time they are making a
menace of themselves.”
Some believe the answer to the problem lies in tough, zero-tolerance measures
used in other parts of the world such as the United States, where its
enforcement in New York was credited with a massive reduction in crime
during the 1980s.
The approach broadly involves targeting resources to combat identified crimes
in particular “hot spots”, monitoring the behaviour of repeat offenders on
the streets, and on-scene arrests in incidents of domestic violence.
While the approach has some support among opposition politicians and senior
police officers in Scotland, who have travelled to American states where the
tactic is used, it has failed to gain widespread backing in Britain, where
more traditional policing methods are still favoured.
Back in Easterhouse, Martin has little option but to hope the politicians will
soon get it right. Until they do, he is a prisoner in his own home.
“Everyone up here is scared to go out at night,” he said. “One of my friends —
he’s in his forties — was attacked last week. He was walking home
and saw a young boy being beaten up, he told the gang to leave him alone and
they stabbed him. He was in hospital and needed staples.
“You have to wonder, how much worse can things get?”
