David Davis has called on parents, families and teachers to teach and compel respect for the law.

In a speech delivered on Wednesday, the shadow home secretary was set to argue that enforcing civilised standards of behaviour is a task that should not just be left to the police.

Addressing the conference of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Davis warned that the collapsed of standards of behaviour "creates the conditions for more serious crime to grow".

"There is a role for parents, for families, for schools, and for society at large, to teach and enforce respect for the law," he argued.

"But we have to ensure that people who actively demand proper behaviour on the streets or in the classroom don't end up facing the full force of the law themselves."

Davis pointed to examples of teachers and train drivers who had intervened to uphold the law but had then face court cases which had eventually been thrown out by the judge or jury.

The Crown Prosecution Service should "behave with a little more common sense and proportion", he added.

"Engaging the public in the fight against crime is crucial," said Davis.

"I'm not talking about vigilante-ism or actions on the scale of Tony Martin.  And I don't expect the public to deal with violent drug dealers.

"I am talking about the need to rebalance justice on our streets... About a culture where people don't walk on by when a bus shelter is being vandalised; where people don't turn a blind eye towards those who endanger the safety of others; or where people don't step in to help a colleague, friend or stranger from being beaten up."

Warning that the police "can't be everywhere all the time", Davis urged members of the public to encourage "civilised" behaviour.

"It shouldn't be necessary for me as home secretary to legislate to protect those who seek to maintain the peace, but I will if that is the only way to resolve the problem," Davis pledged.

"Public spaces are not the property of the criminals – they are the property of the community."