Acceptable Behaviour Contracts addressing antisocial behaviour in the London Borough of Islington rdsolr 0204

This report evaluates the impact of 95 Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) issued in the London Borough of Islington. It also identifies best practice and makes recommendations for improving the way that ABCs are implemented.

Key findings:
• ABCs can be effective in reducing the amount of antisocial behaviour (ASB) committed by young people. Children on ABCs in Islington were less likely to engage in ASB, less likely to be stopped or arrested by the police and were less likely to commit criminal acts whilst on contract.
• There were issues surrounding the effective monitoring of ABC schemes, and identifying and tackling breaches. In total, forty-three percent of contracts issued in Islington were breached (40 out of 94 contracts issued).
• A key learning point from the research is that CDRPs should ensure that there are enough staff and resources available, and there is effective multi-agency communication and data sharing in order to identify and tackle breaches.
• Those on contract tended to be young, white and male. The average age of those on contract was 16 and 88% of contracts were issued for males.
• Those on contract tended to live in council accommodation. They also had a range of social and familial problems and were known to a range of welfare services.
• ABCs are a popular way of addressing ASB. A survey of 42 police forces and 262 local authorities in England and Wales in 2002 found that there were at least 173 contract schemes, and a total of 1,868 contracts had been issued, an average of 11 contracts per scheme.