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Echo wins police backing over naming fight

Details of teenage tearaways charged with breaching anti-social behaviour orders could be more easily reported in the Daily Echo in future after the police pledged to support applications to lift automatic banning orders.

Dorset Police has told the Bournemouth-based newspaper that it supports naming people appearing in youth courts for breaching ASBOs.

Section 49 of the Children And Young Persons Act 1933, which forbids reporting anything that might reveal the identity of the defendant or any other young person involved in the proceedings, still applies to such hearings.

Nick Maton, the force’s expert on anti-social behaviour orders, wrote to the Echo after speaking to reporter Charis Mastris.

He told the paper that the force’s policy was in line with the Home Office booklet A Guide to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts.

In its promoting awareness of orders section, the booklet says that “using the local press to ensure the community knows the subject and conditions of the order is often a cost-effective strategy”.

He wrote: “Dorset Police believes that for an order to be effective, the community, whom the order is designed to protect, must be aware of the identity of the subject of the order and the details of the restrictions they must comply with in order that they can assist in enforcing the order through reporting breaches.

“As an organisation, we are able to update witnesses and victims of details of court proceedings they supply. What we are struggling to do at present is to increase community confidence in reporting anti-social behaviour.

“Many people affected by anti-social behaviour might be aware through newspaper reports that ASBOs were being made. But if they could not identify an anti-social youngster from newspaper reports of breach hearings, they might assume that action to tackle the problem was ineffective.

“The danger here is that they will adopt the attitude that there is no point reporting suspected breaches of an order to the police or other agencies as nothing ever appears to happen as a result.”

Echo executive editor Peter Tate said the letter – and the Home Office booklet quoted by the inspector – would help the paper in its effort to name such youngsters.

He said: “In the past we have quoted various legal precedents and reminded the bench that they have the power to lift the restrictions when the offence is of a particularly serious nature or if it is in the public interest to do so.

“In addition to this we will now be able to cite the quote from the booklet.

“We don’t make an application to name them in all cases. It’s not a name and shame campaign but we apply pressure where their previous conduct is such that it is in the public interest that they be identified.”

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