YOU can tell it's party conference time because law and order is back on the agenda. Once again the Government has talked tough in announcing a raft of hardline measures to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour.

Forgive me for being a little cynical, but haven't we heard all this kind of thing before?

I don't doubt Tony Blair's sincerity. I think he does appreciate that law and order is the number one topic on the minds of the public, it's just that something gets lost in the transformation of words into action.

Perhaps it's the intervention along the way of lawyers, civil libertarians or civil servants but by the time tough on crime reaches the streets it's become a slap on the wrist.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke is said to be under mounting pressure to start delivering on the crime agenda. I can't help comparing his performance to that of the England football coach Sven Goran Eriksson - although in fairness, Mr Clarke hasn't had that long in the job.

Eriksson appears unflappable and even when the team is performing badly on the pitch sits serenely on the bench showing no emotion and speaking eloquently afterwards. Many pundits are now questioning whether we wouldn't be better off with someone like Alex Ferguson in charge, stomping, arm waving, shouting, urging the team on from the touchline.

Perhaps it is a Ferguson figure we also need in the Home Office, seen publicly to urge on the police and, if necessary, to berate chief constables, the judiciary and local authorities who fail to act in the public's best interest. But most of all, delivering success.

Mr Clarke's latest idea is to reduce the number of police forces from the current 43 down to as few as nine regional organisations. I can see some logic in this. Leaner organisations are more efficient and I'd rather have a select band of determined, committed leaders at the top tier than a mish mash of the good, the bad and the egotistical.

Mr Clarke says larger forces will help the police to be better equipped to fight the challenges of terrorism and global crime. Well, that's all well and good and of course we are all concerned about the threat posed by terrorism. But Mr Clarke should not delude himself into thinking this is the public's number one concern.

When people walk down the street their main concern is not that they will be attacked by a terrorist. It is that anti-social behaviour will make them feel unsafe, that yobs are allowed to run amok and that at night drink-related violence will scar their community.

If the police are to be judged by performance-related indicators such as crime rates then Mr Clarke needs to devise an indicator for anti-social behaviour and put the reduction of this scourge on society at the top of his agenda.London has responded magnificently to the July bombings. The people have shown defiance by returning to the tube. But the fact is that in homes across Britain there are many, many people fearful in their own homes, frightened to walk down the street at night because of the invidious shadow of the yob. Tackling that problem should be the Government's number one priority.

Published: 30/09/2005