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Anti-social Behaviour Orders
10. Mr. Vernon Coaker (Gedling): What steps he is taking to ensure that the powers contained in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to tackle anti-social behaviour are used. [89219]
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Jack Straw): It is for the courts to decide whether an anti-social behaviour order can be granted. I have, however, issued detailed guidance to make clear the kind of circumstances in which applications should be sought. The orders provide a valuable tool to help combat anti-social behaviour, and I encourage the relevant authorities in areas where such behaviour is a problem to consider their use.
Mr. Coaker: On tabling a parliamentary question some two or three weeks ago about the use of the orders, I was surprised to find that, since they had come into effect in April, only one had been issued. The Home Secretary will know that many of us suffer the blight of anti-social behaviour on our estates, and were looking forward to the Crime and Disorder Act as a way of combating such behaviour. Will he do all that he can to encourage police forces, such as Nottingham police, and local authorities, such as Gedling district council, to use the orders that he has given them to combat behaviour that is driving many of our citizens absolutely mad?
Mr. Straw: I am happy to give my hon. Friend that undertaking. There was huge support for the idea of the
orders--expressed nationally by the police and local authority associations, and to me personally by the police and local authorities when I visited his area of Nottinghamshire last year. Unfortunately, when new orders are introduced and this House and the other place create new offences, it often takes time for the authorities to make proper use of them. We are doing all that we can nationally to encourage the police and local authorities to make full use of the orders for which they asked. In turn, I ask every right hon. and hon. Member on both sides of the House to do everything possible to cajole and encourage their local police forces and authorities to make the fullest possible use of the orders.
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine): Does the Home Secretary remember that, when the Crime and Disorder Bill was in Committee, Ministers gave assurances that the orders were a last resort and were not to be oversold? Is there not a danger in the question and the answer that he has given of sending out the wrong message, resulting in the orders being used as a blanket system of justice rather than a last resort?
Mr. Straw: We are not in any sense overselling the idea of the orders. They are indeed a last resort, although many people in many constituencies are at the end of their tether as their civil liberties--their fundamental freedom to enjoy life in peace without being harassed and intimidated by anti-social neighbours--are being withdrawn. That is why the orders are there. I think that they have already had some effect. The police tell me that the threat of them is already helping to ensure greater compliance in some neighbourhoods. So, the figures of the orders granted belie their effectiveness. They are a last resort, but they are there to be used, and used they should be.
Mr. Martin Linton (Battersea): Will my right hon. Friend ensure that magistrates receive information on, and training in, the use of anti-social behaviour orders, and that they are made aware of the results of imposing such orders in a national demonstration project along the same lines as the community service demonstration projects?
Mr. Straw: The last point is an excellent idea, which I shall pursue. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising it. There was considerable discussion with the Magistrates Association and the stipendiary magistrates, as well as with the Justices' Clerks Society, about the draft guidance. So, a great deal of work has already been done to draw to the attention of magistrates the detailed way in which the orders work and, indeed, the need for them.
Special Constabulary
12. Mr. Bob Russell (Colchester): What measures are being taken to increase recruitment to the special constabulary. [89221]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Kate Hoey): We have supported the police forces' recruitment campaigns by holding a "Specials' Week" during which I and a number of my ministerial colleagues attended events held by forces around the country to highlight and promote the service provided by special constables. To complement the
activities, which were held during January, some forces received local press and advertising funded by the Home Office at a cost of £500,000. In addition, the Home Office has produced a recruitment video, a series of posters, and a recruitment brochure for the forces.
Mr. Russell: Does the Minister accept that that support has not been very successful, bearing in mind that the number of specials has fallen by 3,250 since the Government came into office? If that haemorrhaging continues at the same rate, by the end of this Parliament, the reduction will be nearly 40 per cent. Is there a place for the special constabulary in the modern police force? If so, is it not time that the Government did something positive about that?
Kate Hoey: The hon. Gentleman is right in that the specials play a very important role in our police force. We have done as much as possible to ensure that the police are given help to recruit them. Although he is right to say that the number of specials has recently slightly decreased, I should point out that they are now trained to a sophisticated level and are used for a much wider variety of duties. Rather than just, as used to be perceived, helping out at fetes, and so on, they are now used in a variety of expertise policing. They bring their own skills to the job. They are very important indeed. We want people from all walks of life to join the specials, because they are a very good practical example of police and public working together.
I hope that the hon. Gentleman congratulates the chief constable in his area, because, in that area, the specials have continued to do extremely well and are recruiting with increasing success. I hope that he will send out a message to all his constituents, encouraging them to join the specials, because they can give a very good service to the public.
Mr. David Drew (Stroud):
I agree with what has been said about the excellent work of the specials and the depth of their interest and commitment. However, does my hon. Friend agree that the fundamental problem in becoming a special is the need to take time off work, and that there is a need to mount a proper campaign--perhaps alongside the Territorial Army and school governors--to persuade employers of the value of that activity? That would encourage people to put themselves forward for that interesting and rewarding activity.
Kate Hoey:
My hon. Friend is right. We are considering all methods of bringing more people into the specials. We want to work with employers so that they give support by making available the time that is needed for training. We want there to be more specials. If hon. Members have any ideas that might be used to recruit specials, we shall be happy to work with them on those ideas. All of us together can increase not just the number of specials but the important role that they play in the police service.
Mr. Edward Garnier (Harborough):
Can the hon. Lady, for whom I have the highest regard, tell me how
Kate Hoey:
The hon. and learned Gentleman will know that such matters will be looked into when a Bill--of whatever sort, and whoever it is introduced by--is discussed by the House.
15. Mr. Bill Rammell (Harlow):
What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on detention orders relating to people with severe personality disorders. [89225]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Paul Boateng):
The statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department to the House on 15 February 1999, Official Report, columns 601-03, set out our proposals to introduce powers of indeterminate detention for dangerously severely personality disordered individuals. The development of this policy has required joint working at all levels between the Home Office and the Department of Health--including extensive discussions between Ministers from both Departments.
We shall publish the consultation paper on the management of such persons shortly.
Mr. Rammell:
I thank my hon. Friend for that response. Does he agree that it is illogical that doctors can detain people with treatable severe personality disorders while members of a much more dangerous group, those with untreatable severe personality disorders, cannot be detained in that way and must be released unsupervised into the community? Does that not underline the need for co-operation and action between the respective Departments? Can my hon. Friend assure me and the House that the discussion that is taking place will lead to greater security for children and families?
Mr. Boateng:
I can give my hon. Friend that categoric assurance. It is vital that a multi-disciplinary approach is taken to that group of highly dangerous individuals. A determination to protect the public must be at the heart of all that we do.
Miss Julie Kirkbride (Bromsgrove):
I welcome very much what the Minister has said and the discussions that are taking place but, as I understand it, legislation will be needed to require people with severe untreatable personality disorders to be detained. That is obviously a priority. When will legislation be brought before the House to make that a priority? It is what the public want--perhaps more than his hunting Bill.
Mr. Boateng:
The hon. Lady will appreciate that it is not for me to anticipate the Queen's Speech, but she will also know that we are showing all expedition in relation to that group of dangerous individuals. She will know of the £700 million that we are already investing to improve services for the mentally ill, and of the extensive action that the Government have taken in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to put public protection at the heart of the
Ms Bridget Prentice (Lewisham, East):
May I suggest to my hon. Friend that, when he is consulting the Department of Health on this issue, he might take a look at my ten-minute rule Bill, the Restraining and Protection Orders Bill, which covered people who have severe personality disorders? Will he look at that very carefully, because health authorities in particular may have a role to play in ensuring that people who have such severe personality disorders are taken to a place of safety--
Mr. Boateng:
My hon. Friend is to be congratulated on bringing this matter to the attention of the House. She will recognise, however, that one of the problems is that psychiatrists say that they can do nothing for those who come within this group under mental health legislation. Similarly, those in the group may not yet have committed a criminal offence, although they almost certainly will do so. Therefore, we have to find a third way to put the public's protection at the heart of the treatment of this group of individuals.
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