One of the youngest ever Brits to get ASBO admits he should have received harsher punishment
One of the youngest people to ever receive an ASBO in the UK says that he should have received a tougher punishment.
Back in 2006, Danny Oakley and his brother, Ricky, ran riot on their Park Village estate in Wolverhampton.
Locals were terrified of the 'demons from hell' who wreaked havoc, carrying knives, and carrying out a spate of burglaries.
Aged just 12 and 11 at the time, the pair were dubbed 'Asbros', and rather than turning over a new leaf, they were only emboldened by their new tag.
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But now aged 29, Danny, who'd previously said that the reason for his offending was to hide the fact he was gay, has looked back at that time and wishes that he'd changed his ways.
"What did an ASBO get me other than notoriety?" he told the Sun.
"It’s just a badge of honour and gets you even more into the criminal mindset – thinking, 'I’m the man of the area'.
"But instead, the harsher the punishment, the less likely you'll keep at it.
"I think it was prison instead that learnt me a lesson in life - even if it is a very fine line, as people can become institutionalised.
"I read Keir Starmer saying he’ll be bringing back ASBOs. If you’ve already terrorised 70 of your neighbours, what deterrent is that?
"They’ll just go into the next street. That’s how good areas become bad.
"When I was a kid we did have youth clubs, more policing – but now there’s nothing for people to do. The system is so tightly-squeezed. I can understand why young people turn to crime."
After leaving home at just 15, Danny managed to get into Walsall College, gaining a level-1 GNVQ in business studies, and turned his back on crime.
This month, Danny was in court for assaulting a prison officer in hospital but was discharged without going to jail. He claims he only lashed out when he was strapped in an ambulance bed after suffering a head injury on the street.
He also said that he doesn't really speak to his brother - who is 'doing his own thing' - anymore.
But he hopes that his story will encourage others following the same path he was on when he was younger to take a different route.
He said: "Twenty years on. I can help other people now at least – I want to give something back to the community.
"I’m infamous – I’m well-known for very negative stories. I want to become well-known for positive stories."
Ann Widdecombe, who was the Conservative shadow Home Secretary when ASBOs were first introduced, said they were never as effective as they should have been.
"People actually used them as a badge of honour, even boasting 'I've got six' - well, you should never have been given a second ASBO," she said.
"There seemed to be a lack of will to follow up with tougher action."
Dominic Smithers