Labour launched an effort to save anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) today, accusing the Government of lacking the commitment to tackle crime and disorder.
Shadow home secretary Alan Johnson warned that scrapping the orders and cutting police budgets would "leave communities helpless and vulnerable".
Home Secretary Theresa May last month hinted the controversial orders could be scrapped as part of a wholesale reform of the approach to tackling yobs saying: "It's time to move beyond the Asbo."
Official figures showed more than half of the almost 17,000 Asbos issued between June 2000 and December 2008 were breached, leading to an immediate custodial sentence in more than half of the cases.
But Mr Johnson insisted the orders, introduced under Labour, were a "success".
He said: "Everyone remembers that under the last Tory government crime rocketed and anti-social behaviour was classed as low-level nuisance and not taken seriously.
"This time around, Tory Home Secretary Theresa May is wrongly claiming that Asbos don't work.
"The problem is not the powers available but her Government's lack of commitment to tackling crime and disorder in our communities.
"Anti-social behaviour destroys people's lives and neighbourhood groups agree with Labour.
"Asbos have worked and will continue to work provided they are used effectively.
"Together with the measures available and the proper funding of neighbourhood police teams, they have helped to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour on our streets.
"What is needed is greater concerted action to ensure that the police and local authorities in every location tackle the problems of anti-social behaviour as effectively as the best.
"Scrapping Asbos and cutting police budgets would leave communities helpless and vulnerable.
"Cracking down on crime and disorder needs to be constantly reviewed and improved but the Asbo is a success.
"Don't let the Tories turn the clock back to the days of rampant crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities."
Mr Johnson will visit a North London estate today to hear residents' concerns about the Government's plans.
Outlining her proposals last month Mrs May said: "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."
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Her ideas include a sweeping crackdown on binge drinking, reforming the licensing laws and a bid to make police a more responsive and accountable part of local communities.
Communities need the power to bring about their own change, and police and councils need the right tools to get their jobs done, she said.
Plans include incentives for unemployed people to make work pay, regaining discipline in schools by putting teachers back in control of their classrooms and encouraging young people to take responsibility through National Citizen Service.
