I am announcing today statistics relating to antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs).An ASBO is a civil order that protects the community from behaviour that has caused or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the perpetrator.ASBOs were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and have been available since April 1999.ASBOs can be issued to anyone aged 10 years or over. They impose restrictions on the behaviour of individuals who have behaved in an antisocial way and protect communities from often longstanding and highly intimidating activity.Breach of an ASBO is a criminal offence and can lead to custody. The maximum penalty for breach of an ASBO is five years' imprisonment or a fine of up to £5,000 for an adult offender.The Home Office is notified by all courts of ASBOs issued. As I indicated in my statement on 3 November 2005, Official Report, col. 52–53 WS, a joint exercise between the Court Service and the Home Office is under-way to refine and improve further the collection of this data.Data on the number of ASBOs issued are updated quarterly. New figures for the period up to September 2005 are now available. They show that for the period between April 1999 and September 2005 the total number of ASBOs issued (as reported to the Home Office) was 7,356. The number of ASBOs issued in the quarter July to September 2005 is 11 per cent. of the total number of ASBOs issued over all quarters and represents an increase of 7 per cent. on the same quarter last year. However, this represents a decrease of 14 per cent. on last quarter's figures.Of those ASBOs issued 55 per cent. were to adults and 43 per cent. to juveniles; (per cent. of ASBOs are age unknown.Some 46 per cent. were orders on application and 54 per cent. were orders on conviction.I have placed with the House Libraries a briefing note containing information about ASBOs and the ASBOs statistics issued today.

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