They say that prevention is better than cure.
So we commend the initiative by teenagers at Blackbird Leys, Oxford, as they try to prevent their estate becoming a haven for guns, knives and drugs.
They are spreading the word that there is no future for youngsters if they allow themselves to be drawn into crime.
No-one is suggesting that the estate is on a par with troublespots like Hackney, Birmingham or Manchester, or is ever likely to be.
But action now, even on a small scale, could make all the difference in the future.
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