This book vigorously challenges the dominant academic view of ASBOs as erroneous tools of social control, and offers an alternative perspective on anti-social behaviour management which argues that ASBOs are capable of enabling a positive process of engagement among local authorities, housing professionals and residents.

This book provides one of the first assessments of the widely used but extremely controversial Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) as a method for dealing with anti-social behaviour in the UK.

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) has been a major preoccupation of New Labour's project of social and political renewal, with ASBOs a controversial addition to crime and disorder management powers. Thought by some to be a dangerous extension of the power to criminalise, by others as a vital dimension of local governance, there remains a concerning lack of evidence as to whether or not they compound social exclusion. This collection, from an impressive panel of contributors, brings together opinion, commentary, research evidence, professional guidance, debate and critique in order to understand the phenomenon of anti-social behaviour. It considers the earliest available evidence in order to evaluate the Government's ASB strategy, debates contrasting definitions of anti-social behaviour and examines policy and practice issues affected by it. Contributors ask what the recent history of ASB governance tells us about how the issue will develop to shape public and social policies in the years to come. Reflecting the perspectives of practitioners, victims and perpetrators, the book should become the standard text in the field.

This book seeks to explain why anti-social behavior, as a focus of political rhetoric, legislative activity and social action, has gained a high profile in Britain in recent years, and it provides a critical examination of current policies of enforcement and exclusion. It also analyzes the thematic elements in the drive against anti-social behavior, within the wider law and order agenda. Public concern about anti-social behavior is real enough, and it remains high on the political agenda. This book will describe the wide range of offensiveness and incivility involved, showing different intensity and causation. It will examine the methods adopted to deal with anti-social behavior and particularly the increasingly managed response orchestrated by the government, and evident in new and recent legislation. These concerns are not confined to Britain, and this book also seeks to situate the growing concern with anti-social behavior with developments in both North America and Europe.

Comprehensive review of the available evidence relating to delinquency by young people.

BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST • From the internationally acclaimed bestselling author The Sense of an Ending comes a "wickedly funny” novel (The New York Times) about an idyllic land of make-believe in England that gets horribly and hilariously out of hand. Imagine an England where all the pubs are quaint, where the Windsors behave themselves (mostly), where the cliffs of Dover are actually white, and where Robin Hood and his merry men really are merry. This is precisely what visionary tycoon, Sir Jack Pitman, seeks to accomplish on the Isle of Wight, a "destination" where tourists can find replicas of Big Ben (half size), Princess Di's grave, and even Harrod's (conveniently located inside the tower of London). Martha Cochrane, hired as one of Sir Jack's resident "no-people," ably assists him in realizing his dream. But when things go awry, Martha develops her own vision of the perfect England. Julian Barnes delights us with a novel that is at once a philosophical inquiry, a burst of mischief, and a moving elegy about authenticity and nationality.