Police resources are stretched

SOME thoughts about the reported increase in crime and the decrease in prosecutions.

Perhaps we should return to the old licensing laws, when pubs closed at 10pm.

Many crimes, from public order offences to murders, result from drunken brawls in the early hours.

More sexual offences are being reported. Is it unreasonable for the police to devote more attention to a violent robbery than to a lady whose bum has been pinched by her boss?

Political correctness hampers the police. As an 83-year-old white male I submit to being searched for weapons at the airport. But it’s regarded as racist to stop and search a black youth for weapons on the street.

The police are expected to devote huge resources to solving high-profile crimes like the poisonings in Salisbury. Can they be blamed for not solving a local car theft?

Then there are drugs, responsible for a huge proportion of crimes.

Perhaps we should treat them like alcohol and tobacco, available from licensed retailers and heavily taxed.

Sure, there would continue to be illegal traffic (as in fags and booze). But at least we’d get tax revenue. Apparently the EU already treats the drug business as part of our GDP.

Nearer home, think of the huge police presence at Newcastle’s and Sunderland’s home games, just to keep an eye on the fans. Wouldn’t they be better deployed elsewhere?

PETER DUTTON