Responding to young people's involvement in anti-social behaviour. A study of local initiatives in Manchester and Glasgow

Much current policy and media debates about anti-social behaviour in the UK have focused upon the presence and activities of groups of young people in residential spaces. Recent legislation has introduced new mechanisms for regulating the conduct of young people in public spaces, including anti-social behaviour orders, curfew orders and dispersal orders. This article provides a comparative evaluation of two local initiatives specifically aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour amongst groups of young people. The first initiative comprised the operation of a dispersal order scheme in an area of EastManchester. The second initiative involved a social landlord funding additional police patrols in a local neighbourhood in Glasgow. The article explores the rationale and operation of both these initiatives and the roles and responsibilities for different agency and community actors. It continues by identifying the outcomes of the initiatives on levels of anti-social behaviour and the wider impacts on community relations and exploring the perceptions of housing and police officers, adult residents and young people themselves