Asbo'd Out Of Existence

Asbos (or Anti Social Behaviour Orders) were brought in by New Labour as part of its ongoing efforts to be seen as tough on crime. They have, however, quickly gone far beyond their original remit. We've seen asbos used to prevent a woman commiting suicide; against a pig farmer whose pigs kept escaping; and as an easy way to deal with troublesome children without addressing the root causes of their deviance. Now, it emerges, they are also being used against the disabled:

A teenage boy with autism was threatened with an anti-social behaviour order (asbo) after the noises he made while bouncing on his trampoline upset a neighbour. A child with Tourette's syndrome received an asbo banning him from swearing in public. And a teenager with Asperger's syndrome was given an asbo banning him from staring over a fence into a neighbour's garden.

This is something we ought to be concerned about.