Cops should harass our young yobs, says Smith

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Under reforms announced today by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, officers will be told to give repeat offenders "a taste of their own medicine" by harrying them until their conduct improves.

The crackdown, which is likely to attract protests from civil liberties groups, follows the success of a recent police operation in Essex in which 14 troublemakers on a Basildon estate were followed and filmed for four days.

The scheme, in which the youths were also repeatedly stopped and searched, led to a dramatic fall in crime and was welcomed by residents who said it had improved their lives significantly.

In a speech in London today, Ms Smith said she now wanted the same tactic to be applied nationally so that persistent troublemakers were left with "nowhere to hide". She said: "We know that getting in early to stop troublemakers works but I want stronger action to deal with persistent offenders.

"I want police and local agencies to give them a taste of their own medicine - daily visits, repeated warnings and relentless filming of offenders." The plan is part of a bid by the Government to revive its popularity by seizing back the initiative on antisocial behaviour following high-profile Tory action, including London Mayor Boris Johnson's decision to ban alcohol on the Tube.

Ms Smith is to publish figures showing a decline in the use of the Government's flagship antisocial behaviour orders. The orders have been criticised as ineffective because more than half of them are breached. The Home Secretary insisted action to combat disorderly behaviour was working, but conceded a minority of problem individuals repeatedly flout controlling measures.