THAT the police 'service' (which used to be a force, remember?) spends a disproportionate amount of its time collecting extra tax for the state by fining motorists and persecuting those easily targeted elsewhere has become ingrained into the psyche...

THAT the police 'service' (which used to be a force, remember?) spends a disproportionate amount of its time collecting extra tax for the state by fining motorists and persecuting those easily targeted elsewhere has become ingrained into the psyche of society is the fault of the public, because the public - that is to say, the public en masse - has refused to push-back against the Government's desire to criminalise as many of us as possible.

We have refused to ridicule, and are suffering for it.

This morning I took my daughter to school (Heron's Moor) and read a sign which was tied to a lamppost near the school car-park:

Motorists

POLICE WARNING:

Car-crime happens because people leave valuables in their cars.

Change your habits.

That it reads 'people' when it should be 'persons' is a minor irritant; the offence is caused by what is implied. To explain quickly: Does anyone think burglary is caused by persons leaving valuables in their houses? Perhaps we should lock our possessions into secure storage each night before retiring? Car-crime - just a sterilised way of saying theft and vandalism (and a vulgar euphemism for that reason) is caused by - wait for it - criminals.

Criminals who, for over a decade, thanks to a soft PC Government, have nothing to fear from the police.

It is worrying that the police, evidently, refuse to believe crime is caused by criminals. Proof is tied to a lamppost outside Heron's Moor school. They believe crime is caused by its victims.

JOHN ASPINALL

Arundell Road

Weston