The Govenment believes it can keep young people out mischief buy offering them £25 a month to behave. Gavin Havery reports.

ACCORDING to the Government, respect cannot be learned, purchased or acquired, it can only be earned.

Respect has become a buzz word in Downing Street circles ever since anti-social behaviour was identified as a key issue with voters at last year's General Election.

Tony Blair promised this lack of "respect" would be tackled, not tolerated. He has brought forward a raft of tough measures to deal with troublemakers.

Almost 350 anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) were imposed by police and North-East councils between April 1999 and last June.

They are seen as a hardline attempt to control unruly youths who cause nuisance in communities.

There were 74 issued in County Durham, 145 in Northumbria, 50 in North Yorkshire and 78 in Cleveland.

The Government has also committed itself to making certain all youngsters have access to interesting and exciting activities. Now it wants to be certain they can afford them.

Under measures outlined by the Chancellor yesterday, youngsters are to be given good behaviour cards that can be spent on a range of sport and leisure activities.

For youths in disadvantaged communities, this could be worth up to £25 a month.

Home Office figures suggest problems are caused by a minority of young people.

As part of the measures unveiled yesterday, teenagers who are involved in persistent crime and anti-social behaviour will have their cards withdrawn.

Complaints about youths hanging about on street corners have been a problem for decades.

In the Fifties it was rock 'n' roll, in the Sixties mods, the Seventies brought punk. Today, the "hoodie" has come to symbolise society's idea of a pimple-faced bogey man.

Good behaviour cards are nothing new - they are already widely used by schools to reward pupils.

And in Chester-le-Street, County Durham - where the problem is so bad police have introduced a dusk till dawn curfew - there was a genuine belief among teenagers that the cards would work.

Kayliegh Conlon, 16, a pupil at the town's Park View Community School, said: "If teenagers had somewhere else to go, rather than on the streets, older people would feel safer.

"It will stop younger people misbehaving if they think they are going to lose their cards."

Academic research shows that the most disadvantaged children have the least to do.

Participation in fee-paying sports is 25 per cent lower among 16-19 year olds in the lowest socio-economic groups compared with the highest.

Unemployed James Bielok, 17, a former Ferryhill Comprehensive School pupil, said: "It is a good thing if it gets kids off the streets. It will stop them getting into trouble."

The six-month dispersal order is in place in the Gibside shopping area, in Chester- le-Street, after groups of up to 40 young people caused havoc.

It is only the second time such an order has been granted in County Durham since the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 came into force.

Adults also believe the idea is a good one, although some have concerns about how it is financed.

Mark Duchar, of Chester-le-Street, said: "I don't really know why we need to offer incentives to get kids to be good. They were never there when we were younger. We just did as we were told.

"Maybe it is because there are less clubs and things to do and they are just bored.

"Guidelines from the Government are a good thing. I just don't think we should be paying for it as taxpayers."