Harassment, intimidation and just simple bad behaviour have the potential to turn people away from central business districts.

The elderly, families with young children and people shopping on their own will simply avoid areas where antisocial behaviour occurs.

Currently, that appears to be in Launceston's Brisbane Street where groups of mostly young people converge in the afternoon.

Shop owners and pub licensees have reported fights, dangerous behaviour such as running into traffic or pushing others in front of oncoming cars.

Such behaviour has followed a spike in damage to CBD shopfronts and theft from businesses.

The issue has been raised at the Launceston City Council meeting, and Cityprom has arranged for stakeholders to discuss the matter next month. Often the reaction to such problems is to call on police to do more: more patrols, more arrests, more something.

That is one part of the solution but the problem is broader than cracking down on crime.

Clearly vandalism and theft are offences police can and do act on, but youths simply milling around while they wait for a bus is not, however obnoxious they might act.

It is up to all community stakeholders to take an interest in fixing what is a reoccurring problem across generations.

It will be a challenge for stakeholders to get the correct balance between cracking down on the real troublemakers and engaging those who are merely wasting time.

It is unlikely to be kids who are employed, are dedicated to their schooling, have strong relationships with their parents or are involved in organised sport who are causing the trouble.

Providing avenues to those areas for youths who are unemployed, who do not value education, who do not have strong parental control or who do not participate in positive recreational or sporting activities is fundamental.