THREE days ago, Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, used the high-profile Dimbleby Lecture to outline the myriad of ills currently affecting his force.

As well as touching on terrorism and the alarming rise of gun crime, Blair spoke of "feral children, hoodies, yobs and the long-running problems of anti-social behaviour". It was a speech that clearly hit a nerve.

All over Britain, police chiefs and community leaders are struggling to cope with rising levels of juvenile delinquency and teenage crime.

Even Tony Blair has acknowledged that gangs of youths have made parts of some cities 'no-go areas' because of their anti-social activity.

The problem is not restricted to Britain. In France, disaffected youths recently embarked on some of the worst rioting the country had ever seen and there are fears that their civil disobedience could spark copy-cat scenes in suburban streets right across Europe.

Numerous solutions have been put forward to address the issue from night-time curfews to tougher penalties for offenders but, as yet, nobody has suggested that football might be the answer. Nobody, that is, except Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink.

The Middlesbrough striker has been called many things throughout his career but, before this week, a social reformer was not one of them.

Yet when Hasselbaink talks about the redemptive powers of football, he is speaking from experience. When it comes to anti-social behaviour, the 33-year-old doesn't just have the T-shirt, he has the hooded top and Burberry cap.

Growing up in the tough Dutch neighbourhood of Zaandam, Hasselbaink gradually turned to gangs and crime in an attempt to curry favour with his peers. It is a part of his life he is ashamed to recall, but not one that he attempts to hide or deny.

"One time in Amsterdam, things got really out of hand," recalled the striker, in his recently-released autobiography "Jimmy". "A group of about ten of us went to see a concert by Public Enemy, one of the most popular rap bands of the time.

"None of us had tickets ... we thought we would just take tickets from people who did have them.

"When we got there we threatened some guys and stole their tickets so that we could gain entry to the concert. It is not something I am proud of. When you're in a gang, you do some very stupid things.

"The people we had stolen the tickets from went to the police and eventually we were all arrested. I was sent to a youth detention facility called Het Poortje in Groningen for three months.

"I was there not just for stealing the tickets, but also because they had found some stolen stuff when they had searched my home. I was always dealing in stolen goods, such as car radios or wristwatches, and it was a lucrative business.

"In those days I carried a knife around with me, but never a gun. I was too scared of guns. I once saw somebody get shot in his car right in the middle of the street."

While most footballers' autobiographies present a sanitised version of the past, Hasselbaink's makes no excuses for its frankness.

Sitting in the Riverside after training last week, it is difficult to equate the modern-day millionaire with the teenage tearaway that spent three months in a youth prison.

But, to Hasselbaink, the characters remain one and the same. Despite everything he has achieved in his illustrious footballing career, his past remains an integral part of his present.

"I wanted to tell the full story," he explained. "I wanted to tell my life exactly as it was and it wasn't always great.

"I wanted to speak to the children who have it difficult in their lives because I know exactly what they are going through.

"It is easy for young people to dwell on the bad stuff in their lives. I did that for a while, but I learned that there is good stuff out there as well.

"I didn't finish my school, I made some pretty big mistakes, and I didn't do certain things that I should have done.

"I didn't want to hide that. I have done things in my life that I regret and I have learned from them. Other people might be going through that now and I want to show them that there is a way out of it."

As far as Hasselbaink is concerned, that way out is football. With his life beginning to fall apart around him, he was urged by his brother, Carlos, to join the Zaansche Football Club.

Suddenly, the teenage rebel had a means of channelling his aggression that did not involve knives or guns. He was taught to respect his coaches and opponents, urged to dedicate himself to his training and explicitly told he had value and skill.

By the time he was 18, he was playing for Telstar and AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league and, over the next 15 years, he went on to establish himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers in Europe. Football had lifted him from the ghetto to the global stage.

"Football was the one thing that turned my life around," he said. "I cannot know for sure what would have happened if football hadn't been a part of my life - but I have a fairly good idea.

"I wasn't brought up in a nice area to live in. There wasn't much for a young boy to do if he wanted to stay out of trouble. Luckily, there was football.

"A football was one of the few things I had but, once you start playing, your life gets a purpose. Football made me a better person and I appreciate everything the sport has given me."

He also appreciates everything it could give to others. Football will not cure society's ills and it will not solve the multiple problems mentioned by police chiefs this week.

For some youngsters, though, it could be just what they need to get their lives back on track. In an era when football is derided for its lack of morality and ethics, that is a point worth remembering.

"A lot is written about what is supposed to be the bad side of the game," said Hasselbaink. "But very few people talk about how much good it does all over the world.

"I am living proof that football can change lives."

* Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink's autobiography "Jimmy" is available now. Published by Harper Collins, it is priced £18.99.