Victims take priority over criminals

IT is a sad state of affairs when women and young girls cannot trust the police or even the justice system to protect them in their daily lives.

Now people in Scotland who are approached by a lone policeman will be given the chance to verify that the officer is on official business, as he must contact his control room. This is a good start, so why isn’t the rest of Britain doing the same?

But with a few off-duty police intent on attacking women and girls, they won’t be wearing their phones and the victims won’t be given a chance to question him or manage to get away to safety.

We keep on being told by the police that crimes like this and many others committed are rare, when sadly they are not. Since Sarah Everard was murdered, there have been over 70 other women and girls murdered.

We need more police on the beat in cities, towns, villages and seen in the countryside; also police stations need to be brought back, with a police house in villages as there used to be, many years ago.

Unfortunately the time has come when all women and young girls need to wear a hidden alarm on their person, which will go off automatically, by the fear felt from the victim when being attacked. The sudden loud continuous noise could frighten the attacker off, knowing other people hearing the noise would soon be on the scene. In this modern day and age, I am sure a personal alarm like this could be made and provided free.

The Home Secretary must make sure action is taken and not, as in the past, just words and promises given which never happen. Our justice system is a disgrace and not fit for purpose, it hasn’t been for years. Victims and their families must take priority over criminals.

People who commit crime must get proper sentences, and in cases of murder, rape and kidnap should lose their ‘human rights’ – and ‘life’ must mean a life sentence, because that is what the victim’s families get. Prison should not be a soft option and only the basic necessities provided, with no luxuries like TV, etc.

Helen Capel Winscombe, Somerset