A COMMUNITY where young people are being urged to sign up to agreements committing them to good behaviour has noted a dramatic drop in reported crime.

Crime in Birtley, Gateshead, has dropped by 23 per cent in the six weeks since the launch last month of the Government-supported operation, which led to 20 young people signing the agreements.

The deal means that young people aged ten to 18, whose behaviour left them isolated, are being encouraged to play a vital role in their community.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Order operation is part of Operation Blizzard, which unites local authority tenants, residents and parents in the fight against crime and drug abuse in the south of the borough.

Acting operations manager Deborah McKenna said: "These young people are our future, and we need to get them involved in shaping the future of our communities.

"We need to teach them that crime does not pay. It will not make them happy and will not give them a good quality of life."

Government funding for the project includes more than £47,000 from the Home Office's Communities Against Drugs Fund.

Fiona Young, regional crime director at Government Office North-East, said: "It is proving a useful way of addressing bad behaviour and encouraging co-operation with others, while still enabling these young people to feel that they have the freedom to make their own decisions."