Comment: Bobbies on the beat in Bristol are best

The fall in crime in Henbury's Crow Lane is dramatic.

Yet it is a good example of what can be achieved if the right people are behind it.

Sergeant Terry Scoble is certainly one of those people. He promised a no-nonsense approached in dealing with the yobs who were giving Crow Lane a bad name.

He promised to name and shame them by putting up posters showing their faces. And he did just that.

It was a brave policy.

Yet as a consequence, crime in the area has dropped by up to 50 per cent.

It goes to show that when police officers are on the ground, when they are seen in an area at all times of the day and night, it has an impact.

Thugs will think twice if they run the risk of being spotted by an officer.

And however much Asbos have been decried in some quarters and merely issuing them has little effect, they have had an impact in Henbury because they have been backed up by good old-fashioned policing.

You can have as much hi-tech gadgetry as you like – there is nothing as effective as a Bobby on the beat.

Of course Sgt Scoble and his colleagues are not working alone in Henbury. They work alongside and with the full backing of the vast majority of local people.

They are regarded as allies in the battle against those who are unruly.

The other important point that the Henbury experience illustrates is that if problems of violence and vandalism occur, they can be halted if they are nipped in the bud.

Only when violent behaviour goes unchecked is there a risk of it spiralling out of control.