Anti-Social Behaviour Orders The act introduced a civil remedy called the
anti-social behaviour order (or ASBO). These orders are made against people who have engaged in
anti-social behaviour, which is defined as "conduct which caused or was likely to cause alarm,
harassment, or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as him or herself and where an ASBO is seen as necessary to protect relevant persons from further anti-social acts by the
Defendant". In
England and
Wales, the orders were made by the
magistrates' courts; in
Scotland, they are still made by the
sheriff courts. The provisions of the 1998 Act have since been modified by the
Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003; they were abolished in England and Wales in 2014.
Sex Offender Orders In England and Wales, a Sex Offender Order was a similar concept to the Anti-Social Behaviour Order with the key difference being that it was specifically aimed at those people in society that are deemed "
sex offenders". The act allowed a police officer to approach the magistrates' court and show that they have reasonable cause to believe that there is a need for an order to be made to protect the public from harm. The conditions placed in such an order were those that are needed to prevent harm to the public. The order could be made for a minimum of 5 years unless the court upheld a complaint for the order to be varied or discharged. A breach of a Sex Offender Order rendered the person to which the order applies liable for imprisonment, on
summary conviction, for up to six months, or on conviction on
indictment, up to five years and/or a fine. The act only applied to those people that are defined as a 'sex offender' per Section 3(1) of the act, namely that the person has been convicted of an offence that is subject to notification requirements (as specified in Part I of the
Sex Offenders Act 1997); was found not guilty as a result of insanity; or has been cautioned for such an offence (except in Scotland) and at the time admitted it: or has been convicted of a similar offence in any country outside of the United Kingdom and the offence would have been deemed a sexual offence under UK law. Sex offender orders were replaced with
sexual offences prevention orders with the
Sexual Offences Act 2003, and further replaced in England and Wales with
sexual harm prevention orders with the
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
Parenting Orders In England and Wales, a Parenting Order is an order made against the parent(s) of a child which has been given an Anti-Social Behaviour Order, has been convicted of an offence, or the parent has been convicted of an offence under section 443 or 444 of the
Education Act 1996 (i.e. failure to prevent truancy). Its aim is that parents must adhere to the conditions to stop their child from behaving similarly; failure to do so will lead to their conviction. The order can be made for a period not exceeding 12 months. There are restrictions on orders being made that interfere with the parents' or child's religious beliefs or that interfere with the times which the parent normally attends work or an educational institution. If the parenting order is breached, the parent(s) could be liable to a fine, not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale.
Racially or religiously aggravated offences In England and Wales, Sections 28 to 32 of the act create separate offences for crimes that were aggravated by the victim's race or religion or presumed race or religion. They did not originally apply to crimes that are aggravated by the offender's perception of the victim's membership of a religion but it was amended by
section 39 of the
Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.
Racially or religiously aggravated assaults Serious violent offences Section 29(1)(a) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated wounding or infliction of bodily harm. A person is guilty of this offence if he commits an offence under section 20 of the
Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (see
grievous bodily harm) which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. Section 29(1)(b) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm. A person is guilty of this offence if they commit an offence under section 47 of the
Offences against the Person Act 1861 (see
assault occasioning actual bodily harm) which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. A person guilty of either of these offences is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the
statutory maximum, or to both (s.29(2)).
Common assault Section 29(1)(c) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated common assault. A person is guilty of this offence if he commits a
common assault which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. This offence is triable
either way. A person guilty of this offence is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both (s.29(3)).
Racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage Section 30(1) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage. A person is guilty of this offence if he commits an offence under section 1(1) of the
Criminal Damage Act 1971 (see also
criminal damage) which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. A person guilty of this offence is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both (s.30(2)).
Racially or religiously aggravated public order offences Fear or provocation of violence and intentional harassment, alarm or distress Section 31(1)(a) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated fear or provocation of violence. A person is guilty of this offence if he commits an offence under section 4 of the
Public Order Act 1986 (see
fear or provocation of violence) which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. Section 31(1)(b) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress. A person is guilty of this offence if he commits an offence under section 4A of the
Public Order Act 1986 (see
intentional harassment, alarm or distress) which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. A person guilty of either of these offences is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both (s.31(4)).
Harassment, alarm or distress Section 31(1)(c) creates the distinct offence of
racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. A person is guilty of this offence if he commits an offence under section 5 of the
Public Order Act 1986 (see
harassment, alarm or distress) which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. A person guilty of this offence is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (s.29(3)).
Arrest Sections 31(2) and (3) formerly provided a statutory power of arrest for offences under section 31(1). They were repealed by section 174 of, and Part 2 of Schedule 17 to, the
Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.
Racially or religiously aggravated harassment etc. Harassment A person is guilty of an offence under section 32(1)(a) if he commits an offence under section 2 of the
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. A person guilty of this offence is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both (s.32(3)).
Putting people in fear of violence A person is guilty of an offence under section 32(1)(b) if he commits an offence under section 4 of the
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which is racially or religiously aggravated within the meaning of section 28. A person guilty of this offence is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or to a fine, or to both, or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both (s.32(4)). In Scotland, Section 33 amended the
Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 by inserting a new section 50A. This creates the offence of racially aggravated harassment.
Local authority responsibilities Each
Local Authority in England and Wales was given the responsibility to formulate and implement a strategy to reduce crime and disorder in their area. The act also requires the local authority to work with every
police authority, probation authority,
Strategic health authority,
social landlords, the voluntary sector, and local residents and businesses. Known as
Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in England, and
Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) in Wales, the Home Office may require any Partnership to supply details of their community safety arrangements.
Other provisions Section 34 of the act abolished the
rebuttable presumption that a child (defined as a person under fourteen but over the age of ten) is incapable of committing an offence (
doli incapax). Section 36 of the act abolished the
death penalty for all offences of
treason and for the offence of piracy with violence (under the
Piracy Act 1837), replacing it with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment (with effect from 30 September 1998). These were the last offences carrying the death penalty, which had not been carried out for any offence since its abolition for murder in 1965. The United Kingdom is now prohibited by treaty (
Protocol 6 and
Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights) from reintroducing it for any offence. The act established the
Youth Justice Board. ==Case law==