I WAS shocked to read on the front page of the Mercury of a freak series of crimes in Weston. We have more police officers but it seems fewer than ever are seen on the streets. Where are they? All too often stuck in police stations, filling in forms. I

I WAS shocked to read on the front page of the Mercury of a freak series of crimes in Weston.

We have more police officers but it seems fewer than ever are seen on the streets. Where are they?

All too often stuck in police stations, filling in forms. In a typical police station there can be more than a 100 forms in common use.

It's time for a change. The Home Office should unburden our police of much of the load of targets, assessments, action plans and performance indicators.

I believe we should stop the obsessive measuring and monitoring and allow our police more time for catching criminals.

On another subject I would like to say each year Weston Hospicecare touches the lives of several thousand people in North Somerset. The staff and volunteers who care for patients with cancer and other life-threatening diseases at Jackson-Barstow House are on the side of the angels. The charity is heavily reliant on legacies and grants, the hospice's shops and fund-raising activities such as the Midnight Walk on Weston beach. It's all those volunteers who assist with everything from chatting to patients to working in the Hospicecare shop, that I would like to salute for making our world a better place to live.

D F COURTNEY - Victoria Park, Weston