This morning, shadow home secretary Alan Johnson launched a campaign to save anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) after their abolition by Theresa May. Total Politics analyses the facts to see if it was right to scrap Asbos.

Asbos, according to Alan Johnson, were part of a programme to crack down on anti-social behaviour. He explained to Total Politics that the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission backed them, saying that 65% of behaviour desisted after the first intervention and 93% after the third. However the term “intervention” covers more methods than just enforcing an Asbo.

But the idea that Asbos affirmatively stop further bad behaviour is undermined by the figures in the graph below, taken from Home Office statistics. From 2002-2008, the amount of ASBOs issued increased by more than five times, to over 2,000. Also the orders were frequently disobeyed with Asbos being breached over 30,000 times from 2005-2008. In total, 55% of the 17,000 Asbos over 2002-2008 were breached, according to the Home Office.

According to the children’s charity NACRO : "There is little proof that Asbos actually work." The behaviour orders are classed as “civil” sanctions, yet breaching them is a criminal offence. Over half of those who breached an Asbo ended up tried in a criminal court and with a criminal record. Due to the cost (each Asbo costs £2,250 to administer), NACRO favours schemes like parenting support and early positive intervention.

British Crime Survey figures show the number of those affected by anti-social behaviour has generally remained level and in some cases increased over the period of 2000-08. The biggest decrease has been a five-fold drop in the amount of people affected by abandoned or burnt-out cars whereas in many other fields there was "little variation".

The behaviour orders have been issued and breached more and more. The measure, Johnson told Total Politics, served to help reduce crime by 43% down from its original tally in 1997 and helps to increase police powers. However, with each young offender costing at least £4,450 a month to detain, the home secretary has a financial incentive to shelve the scheme in favour of an emphasis on rehabilitation.

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