However, the problem with this argument is that the overwhelming majority of young people are doing nothing of the sort. Most of those out "after hours" are doing ... well, pretty close to nothing, and they're certainly not bothering anyone. Therefore, a catch-all policy can only fail. It might, possibly, sweep away the few troublemakers, but it would also smear and subjugate the majority.
The answer is surely to provide an alternative to the "nothing" that young people do in the evenings, the "nothing" that might conceivably tempt a few towards crime. As a writer for rock magazine Kerrang! I am constantly bemused at the policy of local venues towards under-18s. Basically, they're barred. In practice, this means that bands play at The Charlotte in Leicester to about ten people aged over 18, with a potential audience of hundreds left out on the street (sometimes literally, they actually hang around outside). These young people have read about the bands in Kerrang! and want nothing more than to be part of their scene.
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