An ongoing commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour was a central part of the New Labour policy agenda throughout their 13 years in government. Their policy and practice became increasingly enforcement-led with the anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) at the cornerstone of their agenda. Police and local authorities came under pressure to see the ASBO, along with a whole range of other enforcement powers, as almost a panacea for tackling anti-social behaviour and, in particular, youth disorder. This article draws upon the literature, the authors’ own evaluation experience and recently released statistics from the Ministry of Justice and the British Crime Survey to examine the legacy of New Labour in terms of tackling anti-social behaviour. These are discussed within the context of the Coalition Government’s emerging ideas about how best to tackle anti-social behaviour, including their plans to abandon the ASBO along with other enforcement measures introduced under New Labour. We suggest that rather than abandoning the ASBO altogether, there may be advantages to ‘rehabilitating’ the ASBO within the context of a range of more far-sighted and proactive community-based measures. We discuss the lessons to be learnt from New Labour’s legacy and discuss ways forward within the context of coalition government policy.
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