ONE of the main planks of the Government's attempts to be seen to be tough on crime is the introduction of the anti-social behaviour order.

The first such court order in the Prime Minister's Sedgefield constituency has been issued. It is only the fourth in County Durham since the orders were introduced in May 1999 and the first on a juvenile - low numbers that show how time-consuming and complicated the orders are to impose.

The North-East's experience of the orders is very mixed. The first was imposed upon 45-year-old Ashley Jones, of Newcastle, last December. As he had previously been arrested about 350 times, it was no surprise when he broke the order within a month and was jailed for six months.

It is clear that the orders are little deterrent to persistent nuisances. They have to be used in conjunction with other punitive measures.

However, the orders are not complete failures. The handful issued in Stockton, for instance, have insisted that the young offenders' parents must attend parenting classes.

The other positive aspect of the orders is that they are relevant to the communities that have had their lives blighted by the anti-social behaviour of the few.

Victims are all too often overlooked by the criminal justice system and this use of civil hearngs - where the burden of proof is not as stringent as in a criminal court - is welcome.

Finally, it is reassuring to see communities pulling together to impose the orders. In the Sedgefield case, residents and council joined forces with the police to seek the order.

The verdict on this main plank of Government policy is mixed: ineffectual as a deterrent but useful as a community exercise.