Although street-life people (defined later) may not, at first sight, appear to be a major issue when discussing anti-social behaviour in a national context, in fact the public's response to them provides a number of interesting insights into the process by which certain groups come to be viewed as a threat and their consequent treatment by the wider community. The theoretical insights gained here can equally be applied to understanding the treatment of other groups, such as young people, new migrants and Travellers.

In this chapter I aim to discuss the mechanisms by which certain groups become increasingly visible as threats to public safety, and the conditions under which they become demonised. I then suggest that the ‘default position’ of communities, when asked what they want done about a problem group, is, and, historically, often has been, to seek their elimination. The process of ‘getting rid of ‘ or eliminating a group perceived as threatening is more likely to occur when power over decision making on the future of the ‘out-groups’ is handed over to communities. Neighbourhood policing, one of New Labour's major policing initiatives, may increase the likelihood of greater punitiveness and social exclusion (Squires, 1998). Finally, and briefly, I will explore the notion of ‘community’ and ‘neighbourhood’ in New Labour thinking, specifically as it applies to anti-social behaviour (ASB), and suggest that those very ‘out-groups’ that often appear to threaten ‘the community’ are arguably the communities that actually contain most of the elements that commentators and politicians tend to regard as central to their notions of community.

The basis of this chapter is research I have been conducting for over two years in what I will call Cathedral City, exploring the street-life people's relationship to local communities, the council and the police. This has been done by examining official documents on the problem, and through interviews and discussions with local council officials, members of organisations working with the street-life people and with police officers at various levels charged with organising and enforcing the regulations concerning street-life activities. I have also attended public meetings where the local community has expressed its views about the existence and activities of street-life people, and interviewed members of the public. Finally, I have both observed and spent time with the street-life people themselves.