The focus of this article is Swansea’s tiered approach to tackling youth anti-social behaviour. It discusses the findings of a series of interviews with individuals working in the city around the following four themes: de-escalation and diversion; consistency and avoiding net-widening; inclusionary welfarism and multi-agency partnership; and voluntarism, engagement and compliance. Recognizing that youth justice policies can vary both between and within jurisdictions, the article argues that the interviewees’ accounts contrast sharply with New Labour’s New Youth Justice, embody key features of the Welsh Assembly Government’s children’s policy, and might inform the new approach to tackling anti-social behaviour promised by the Coalition Government.