Anti-social behaviour like drinking in public and riding e-bikes could be stopped under new crackdown

Anti-social behaviours including drinking on the street and riding e-bikes could be stopped under new ASBO-style powers to be introduced by the Government.Respect Orders, implemented from today, allow agencies like police and councils to impose tougher restrictions on anti-social offenders for behaviours such as harassment, intimidation, street drinking, littering and drug use.The orders - which only apply to adult offenders - will see criminals hit with punishments like town centre bans and curfews for engaging in disorderly conduct, as well as handed unlimited fines and community sanctions like volunteering.And, for the first time, courts will also be given the power to enroll serial offenders into rehab programmes if their crimes are linked to drug and alcohol use, or order anger management classes.The breaching of a Respect Order, which will be imposed across England and Wales, will be considered a criminal offence and be punishable by up to two years' jail time.Those with the power to enforce the orders include the Environment Agency, social landlords, Transport for London, West Midlands Combined Authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, Natural Resources Wales and NHS Counter Fraud Authority. Anti-social behaviours in offenders could be quashed under new Respect Orders imposed by the Government. Policing Minister Sarah Jones is pictured in Staffordshire, where she discussed the new orders with police and community members Ms Jones said the public should not 'tolerate' anti-social behaviour, with the new orders intended to help communities 'feel safe'Policing Minister Sarah Jones MP, speaking in Staffordshire, said the Respect Orders are intended to help neighbourhoods across the country 'feel safe'.Ms Jones said: 'We want our neighbourhoods to be places where people can enjoy, they can feel safe, they can go to the pub, they can go to the shop, they can get their hair done, without feeling like they are going to be abused by somebody, threatened by somebody, or see something horrific going on in their neighbourhoods.'That is what we want, and that is what should be normal. That's what we should all be aiming for. The Respect Orders will help with that. Antisocial behaviour is pernicious. We shouldn't tolerate it, we shouldn't accept it.'Chief Inspector Cliff Goodwin, the local policing commander for Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands, said the issues the town faces are the same issues many communities across the country face - including people riding e-bikes and e-scooters, drug-taking, fouling and people congregating in certain areas.He said the Respect Orders would enable officers to stop antisocial behaviour 'in its tracks' by putting persistent offenders before the courts when they have not engaged with diversionary work beforehand.The legislation has been passed 'in tandem' with the Ministry of Justice, Ms Jones said, and despite the court system being 'very challenged' at the moment, she insisted the orders were 'really important'.She said: 'If the public are saying to us, antisocial behaviour is actually something that makes me feel less safe in my town, that really affects my quality of living, then we need to be responding, and the courts need to be responding. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said anti-social behaviour is 'not inevitable' and she will not 'accept it''We just need that concerted effort so that everybody is saying antisocial behaviour is not low level, it's not something that comes last on the list of priorities, it should be upfront as a really big push from all the different agencies to tackle it.'Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she will 'not accept' anti-social behaviour which 'blights' Britain's communities.She said: 'Unchecked, anti-social behaviour blights our communities. But it is not inevitable and I won't accept it.'For too long, we have lacked the powers we need to deal with this problem properly. From today, that changes: authorities will be able to take tough action against these offenders.'This delivers on a commitment we made to the British people in our manifesto. And, most importantly, those who make life a misery for others will now face the consequences of their actions.'