ACCORDING to the raw statistics, crime is going up. According to the Home Office, which "adjusts" these figures, crime is going down.

Either way, one thing is certain. There is too much of it.

Crime is rife in British society. Fortunately, North Yorkshire residents are less likely than most to be exposed to the worst crimes of violence, rape and murder. Neighbouring Yorkshire boroughs are not so lucky.

Yet fear of crime is still high here. One reason is that many people have experience of so-called "petty" crime: anti-social behaviour, vandalism and the like.

Cut down on that and, in theory at least, public fear will diminish. Studies suggest a reduction in low level crime leads to fewer major offences

So we welcome two new ways the local law and order system is attempting to curb petty crime. One is a deterrent, one a punishment.

The article on this page describes the first unsupervised day of York's Police Community Support Officers. They are there as a visible, uniformed presence, ready to help the public and deter anti-social behaviour.

Residents have long called for more bobbies on the beat. The counter argument said that experienced officers' time was better spent on intelligence-led policing. These "back-up bobbies" look like a good compromise.

We also report tonight on another imaginative initiative, this time in the courts. Young shoplifters are being forced to work for the stores from which they stole, and vandals are being made to clean up graffiti. The victims have a say in the punishment.

Such a system forces offenders to face up to the consequences of their actions, allows crime victims to be more involved in the dispensing of justice and, in many cases, ensures the penance is a public one.

Taken together, these two schemes demonstrate a tougher approach to anti-social behaviour, a change which will be welcomed by most people in North Yorkshire.

Updated: 10:32 Thursday, July 17, 2003