Assembly told Ballymena tops the ASBO league

Twenty ABSOs, 13 adult and seven juvenile, are currently in place in and around the town.

The figures were released last week in response to an Assembly question by the DUP's Lord Morrow, justice committee chair.

ASBOs are used to deal with people who persistently commit minor crimes that do not warrant a prison sentence but reach of an ASBO can result in a five-year prison sentence

They are court orders which can ban a person from threatening, intimidating or disruptive actions, spending time with a particular group of friends or visiting certain areas.

Speaking last week Lord Morrow said: "I think you can look at the figures in two ways; that there's more anti-social behaviour going on there, or there is a better detection rate going on in Ballymena.

"As I look at the figures right across the rest of Northern Ireland, they are not as high so maybe Ballymena is better at dealing with it than other areas."

The orders are in effect for a minimum of two years. They are civil orders, not criminal penalties, and do not appear on a suspect's criminal record.

However, if a person breaches an ASBO, they have committed a criminal offence punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison.