More than half of Asbos breached

More than half of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) issued in the last 12 years have been breached at least once, fresh figures revealed.

Of the 22,974 Asbos issued between June 1 2000 and December 31 2012, 58%, or 13,295, have been breached once, Home Office statistics showed.

Of these, 9,992 - or 43% of all Asbos issued - have been breached more than once.

And on average if an Asbo is breached, it is breached five times, the data reveals.

Asbos, available since 1999, are issued by courts to anyone over the age of 10 for anti-social behaviour such as drunkenness.

The orders last at least two years and, among other restrictions, can prevent subjects entering certain places and spending time with known troublemakers.

Asbos are to be replaced by new measures introduced in the Government's Anti-social Behaviour Bill.

Crime prevention minister Norman Baker said: "These figures are further proof of why we need to replace this broken system.

"The breach rate is up again with nearly 58% of all Asbos issued since June 2000 breached at least once.

"What is more, for young people, the breach rate is a staggering 68%. Asbos simply do not work.

"Victims have told us what they want - they want anti-social behaviour to stop and for it not to happen again.

"Our new powers will give the police, councils and courts a faster and more effective way of addressing problems before they escalate."