YOU can always tell when we are in the run-up to a General Election, because Labour politicians including Rossendale and Darwen's MP Janet Anderson start talking tough on Law and Order (LET, September 3).

It is now seven years since Labour's 1997 manifesto promised: 'We will tackle the unacceptable level of anti-social behaviour and crime on our streets. Our zero tolerance approach will ensure that petty criminality among young offenders is seriously addressed.'

ASBOs were introduced by Jack Straw five years ago, but local officials have complained that the orders are too complex, time-consuming, and bureaucratic.

In addition, the Government's own figures show that crime is out of control under Labour.

In Rossendale, violent crime has risen by 94 per cent in the last year, and in the Blackburn with Darwen Council area, by 50 per cent. The number of persistent young offenders making repeat appearances before the courts in England and Wales has increased by 63 per cent since Labour took office in 1997.

That means Labour's programmes for getting young people off crime are failing. Perhaps all that Sardinian sunshine has gone to Mr Blair's head. The stark reality is that crime is out of control and that, under Labour, it will only get worse. With over 800,000 more recorded crimes since 1997, it is clear that ASBOs are no adequate solution.

We also have to tackle the epidemic of drugs among young people, falling discipline in schools and truancy.

It's all very well Janet Anderson 'welcoming another Labour consultation paper on tackling crime', but what the people of Rossendale and Darwen need is more police, more discipline and more respect. Not until the police are freed from unnecessary paperwork and political correctness will they be able to tackle the yob culture which makes people's lives an absolute misery.

NIGEL ADAMS, Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Rossendale and Darwen.