Beyond ASBOs? Evaluating the outcomes of anti-social behaviour initiatives - early findings from a case study in one English city

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 makes responding to anti-social behaviour a strategic and operational priority for local authorities. Political and managerial assessment of performance tends to focus on the use of legal interventions, in particular the number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) obtained by an authority. This article considers how the members of a team of anti-social behaviour officers in the city of Birmingham define the outcomes of their work and how these should be assessed. It demonstrates the considerable range of social impacts that officers believe their work should generate. The implications for evaluating the team's work, which would seem to go far beyond 'counting ASBOs', are discussed.