Our Shop A Yob campaign has won the support of Home Secretary David Blunkett for publishing CCTV pictures of youths vandalising buses in our neighbourhoods. Some

say the vandals need to be taught a lesson. Others believe we should look at the root causes of their behaviour. Our columnists Rupert Smythe and Rachael Bradman have their own ideas.

RUPERT SMYTHE SAYS ... YES, SHOP THE LITTLE TOE-RAGS

INNOCENCE is no excuse for criminal behaviour and these young vandals must be shown society will not tolerate their appalling behaviour.

It is all very well dredging up hackneyed liberal criticisms of the News Shopper's campaign, chiefly that these youths are "victims of circumstance".

They may well be. It may be that their parents are incompetent adults who not only have no control over their children, but often have no idea where their children are or what they are doing. It may even be their schools don't care.

However, this newspaper has a duty to do something to stop this mindless vandalism and intimidation.

How people can suggest printing the ugly little faces of wanton vandals in the newspaper is unfair, I do not know.

In fact, it beggars belief. These little swines cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to property paid for by the taxpayer, often knowing full well they are being filmed.

Why do they think they can get away with it? Because they have heard certain flaky sectors of society bleating on about how youngsters "have it tough these days".

This is the root of the problem there is too much cowardice when confronting juvenile crime, which creates an arrogance among youngsters who believe their ridiculous and petty crimes will go unnoticed.

This needs nipping in the bud and is why the News Shopper must continue its campaign, backed by the Home Secretary, to help the police punish the little toe-rags for their crimes.

RACHEL BRADMAN SAYS ... 'YOBS' DESERVE UNDERSTANDING

IT IS not often I question the editorial decisions made by this newspaper but I do have some grave concerns about the Shop A Yob campaign.

It has been running for more than six months now and I am not the only one to start asking: What will it all achieve?

To my mind, a local newspaper campaign has to have a clear stated aim and a clear goal in sight.

I just wonder whether Shop A Yob runs the risk of merely operating as a "name and shame" rogues gallery, with little or no end product.

True, there have been a few arrests but, as most of these kids are under 18, once they are in the hands of the courts their identity is protected and for good reason.

Many young teenagers are not mentally developed enough to fully account for their actions and should not be branded "yobs" on the say-so of a handful of journalists.

This is not what a free press is all about.

Surely, we should be using our privileged positions as opinion formers to ask questions which are more searching about the nature of youth offending and society as a whole.

Only by looking more deeply into this extremely difficult issue, which the police, probation and social services try so hard to combat, will we ever "rid our streets of this menace" which I believe is a stated aim of the Shop A Yob campaign.

July 12, 2002 15:00