Society: Minister calls for community action on street yobs

Mrs May said strong community action was needed to combat unruly yobs, as figures showed more than half of Asbos were breached.

"It's time to move beyond the Asbo," she said. "We need a complete change in emphasis, with communities working with the police and other agencies to stop bad behaviour escalating that far."

She added: "We need to make anti-social behaviour what it once was – unusual, abnormal and something to stand up to – instead of what it has become: frequent, normal and tolerated."

Government proposals include a sweeping crackdown on binge drinking, reforming the licensing laws and trying to make police more responsive and accountable.

Mrs May said police had not always taken anti-social behaviour seriously enough but she wanted officers to be able to use their "common sense" and to hand out punishments which are "rehabilitative and restorative" rather than "criminalising".

"We must turn the system on its head," she said. "There is no magic Whitehall lever we can pull simply to stop anti-social behaviour. No magic button to press or tap to turn to stop the flow of misery.

"The solution to your community's problems will not come from officials sitting in the Home Office working on the latest national action plan.

"We will put power into the hands of our citizens and we will put our trust into the professionals."

Ministry of Justice figures published yesterday showed that more than half of the almost 17,000 Asbos issued between June 2000 and December 2008 were breached.

But Shadow Home Secretary Alan Johnson defended the orders, which were brought in to deal with persistent minor offenders whose actions might not otherwise have been punished, saying they made huge contributions towards tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

"The Home Secretary demonstrates a lack of understanding about the powers already available to the police," he said.