VANDALISM has been a plague on our society for more years than many of us would care to remember.

The latest incident in the Faithful City, as we report on P5 today, has hit the long-suffering residents of St John's.

According to one resident of the St Clement's sheltered accommodation for the elderly, the culprits were a gang of six to eight teenagers.

The question that has to be posed now is what can be done to put a stop to trouble-making and aggressive behaviour in our city.

After all, the grim fact is that very few initiatives to reduce vandalism seem to work.

Evening News columnist John Phillpott has put forward his solution.

Recently he wrote: "There's only one answer to all this - the police must start making arrests. These louts must be picked up, put in the back of the wagon, and carted off down the nick. And charged.

"Then their parents can be sent for and the position explained to them in no uncertain manner. And, when they're dealt with by the court, let's see a punishment that fits the crime.

"There must be many who'd like to see work gangs of unpaid labour putting right the damage that they caused in the first place. Let's see some real community orders, ones that actually mean something."

As the problem grows, even the most liberal among us must have some sympathy with such draconian views.