Madam, - In recent days Cllr Malcolm Byrne and the National Youth Federation have both dismissed my views on Asbos for the usual politically correct reasons.
Cllr Byrne has no idea of the fear and intimation old people suffer in inner city areas where random violence and social disorder need to be combated. I work in this community and see the real need to support the victims of crime. As for the National Youth Federation's claim that its projects "contribute to reducing crime", that is a nonsense. The type of antisocial thug that needs to be tackled goes nowhere near youth organisations.
Conventional policing - evidence-taking and detection - cannot deal with the problem of antisocial behaviour, which is an angry, irrational expression of social collapse.
This collapse is due to the decline of family values and communities where people watch out for each other. The Garda's task of stopping antisocial behaviour is made harder when family and communities are fragmented. The famous remark by the founder of modern policing, Robert Peel, that "police at all times should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to that historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police" no longer applies. Local communities must work with the police to root out the unruly elements within them. Asbos will give people that power. - Yours, etc,
JOHN KENNY, Moran's Cottages, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
Madam, - Michael Kelly's letter on USI's antisocial behaviour campaign (June 14th) struck a raw nerve with me. As both president of the Union of Students in Ireland, and a Northern unionist, I am struck by the tactlessness of Mr Kelly's comments.
I am keen to ensure that this issue is not "hijacked" by any party or group, but the only way to be sure is to form a broad-based coalition. If Sinn Féin members are honestly committed to supporting the civil and human rights of young people in Ireland, and want to show it, they are welcome within the campaign, along with other representative groups. - Yours, etc,
BEN ARCHIBALD, President, Union of Students in Ireland, Dublin 2.