NO SIMPLE ANSWER

ALL respect to Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington, but while her curfew proposal may be attractive to our long suffering electorate, I for one, cannot see it getting off the ground should she win the forthcoming election, solely because of the unwieldy nature of the beast. Such legislation would probably work in a police state, but we, at present, do not subscribe to such a predicament. Notice I said “at present”!

Just reflect for a moment on the logistics of such legislation in a city of 200,000, and how many extra police would have to be put on the ground to even make a dent in this very serious situation, and I am sure the streetwise perpetrators of these ongoing serious crimes are going to enjoy the cat and mouse game which would assuredly result.

I am sure our police force would not subscribe to such legislation, because they can see the futility in their being used as baby (crim) sitters, and as for fining the parents of the culprits caught in this police drag net exercise, if that suggestion was not so serious, it would be laughable. Can you imagine the parents of these street urchins having $250 to their name?

If they did have that money at the ready, I am sure they would be investing it in alternative areas. Repeat, laughable.

Having said that, I fully agree that the parents should be made to own the problem, but recouping that money would be virtually impossible.

There is no ready-made panacea for this problem, but all government will do, as is their norm, is throw money at the problem, hoping it will go away, without creating the antidote that is so sorely needed.

This problem will not be solved by a politician. Never.

The solution must come upwards from the grassroots of society who have the necessary coal face exposure, but of course, with the government’s final tick of approval.

DON MORRIS, Cranbrook.